QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.3md

Earthquake near Cabo Rojo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Cabo Rojo in the 24 hours to 5:29 pm AST (21:29 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 9 km (6 mi) SSE, at 11:57 pm AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Cabo Rojo

This page: a magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded 46 km (29 mi) west-southwest of Cabo Rojo, PR, at 5:12 am AST on 8 March 2025 (09:12 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 36 km WSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico

95 km (59 mi) W of Ponce, PR · 54 km (34 mi) SW of Mayagüez, PR

5:12 am AST, Mar 8, 2025 · · 11 km deep · released about 1.2 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Cabo Rojo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cabo Rojo Municipio 38 kmMayagüez Municipio 47 kmLajas Municipio 52 kmHormigueros Municipio 52 kmSan Germán Municipio 57 kmRincón Municipio 60 kmAñasco Municipio 62 kmGuánica Municipio 63 kmSabana Grande Municipio 65 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
5:12 am AST on 8 March 2025 ()
Where
46 km (29 mi) west-southwest of Cabo Rojo, PR · earthquakes near Cabo Rojo
Magnitude
M 3.3 (md)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cabo Rojo Municipio, 38 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 614 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 48 km (30 mi) from the epicentre. In Cabo Rojo, 46 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.

Likely felt in: Pole Ojea 37 km, intensity II · Puerto Real 42 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1.2 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 140,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 6,500× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,600× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.2 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.5× more

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 4.5 on 2021-07-18 — about 63 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 39 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 38 km NNE 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 17.8603, -67.5112. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 38 km (24 mi) ENE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 47 km (29 mi) WNW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 52 km (32 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 52 km (32 mi) NE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 57 km (36 mi) ENE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 60 km (37 mi) NNE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 2 km NW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.7 8 km W of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.4 1 km N of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.3 2 km WSW of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.7 11 km SW of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.3 11 km SW of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 3 km NW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.7 10 km W of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.4 47 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.0 3 km SW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 6 km SE of Boquerón, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.9 3 km WSW of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.0 6 km SSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.0 27 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.3 5 km SW of Palmarejo, 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.