QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Maricao, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Maricao in the 24 hours to 8:45 pm AST (00:45 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 33 km (20 mi) SSE, at 3:45 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Maricao

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 9 km (5 mi) east-southeast of Maricao, PR, at 10:08 am AST on 20 August 2024 (14:08 UTC), 18 km deep.

USGS: 8 km ESE of Maricao, Puerto Rico

34 km (21 mi) WNW of Ponce, PR · 25 km (16 mi) ESE of Mayagüez, PR

10:08 am AST, Aug 20, 2024 · · 18 km deep · released about 23 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Maricao Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Maricao Municipio 5 kmSabana Grande Municipio 7 kmYauco Municipio 8 kmLas Marías Municipio 12 kmSan Germán Municipio 14 kmLares Municipio 16 kmAdjuntas Municipio 17 kmGuayanilla Municipio 19 kmGuánica Municipio 21 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
10:08 am AST on 20 August 2024 ()
Where
9 km (5 mi) east-southeast of Maricao, PR · earthquakes near Maricao
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Maricao Municipio, 5 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 813 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Maricao, 9 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Sabana Grande, Liborio Negron Torres, Lluveras, Yauco, Palomas, San Germán.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 23 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 660,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 470,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 42× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 23 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 5,200,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 46 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 33 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 49 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 49 km W of this epicentre

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 18.1407, -66.9112. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Maricao Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) NW earthquakes near Maricao Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 7 km (5 mi) SSW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) SE earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Las Marías Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) NW earthquakes near Las Marías Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) WSW earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Lares Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lares Municipio

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

56 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.4 5 km ENE of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.3 5 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.6 5 km E of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.1 2 km ESE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.0 7 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.7 4 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.6 4 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.9 8 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.6 4 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.2 4 km E of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 4 km E of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 5 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.0 2 km NNW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.9 4 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.1 4 km E of La Parguera, Puerto Rico

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.