QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near San Germán, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in San Germán in the 24 hours to 12:59 pm AST (16:59 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 12 km (7 mi) SW, at 11:57 pm AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near San Germán

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) northeast of San Germán, PR, at 5:06 pm AST on 21 September 2025 (21:06 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 2 km NE of San Germán, Puerto Rico

16 km (10 mi) SE of Mayagüez, PR · 107 km (67 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

5:06 pm AST, Sep 21, 2025 · · 11 km deep · released about 550 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near San Germán Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Germán Municipio 1 kmSabana Grande Municipio 9 kmHormigueros Municipio 10 kmMaricao Municipio 13 kmLajas Municipio 14 kmLas Marías Municipio 15 kmYauco Municipio 18 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 20 kmGuánica Municipio 20 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
5:06 pm AST on 21 September 2025 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) northeast of San Germán, PR · earthquakes near San Germán
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Germán Municipio, 1 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 416 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 27 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. In San Germán, 3 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: San Germán 3 km, intensity III · Mayagüez 16 km, intensity II · Puerto Real 17 km, intensity II · Yauco 20 km, intensity II · Pole Ojea 22 km, intensity II · San Sebastián 26 km, intensity II · Guayanilla 26 km, intensity II · Lares 27 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 550 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 28,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 19,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 550 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 220,000 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 · 43 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 33 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 38 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 37 km WNW 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 18.1017, -67.0267. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Germán Municipio, PR 1 km (1 mi) WNW earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 9 km (5 mi) ESE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) WNW earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) NE earthquakes near Maricao Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) S earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Las Marías Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) NNE earthquakes near Las Marías Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 5 km ENE of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.1 4 km W of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.5 2 km WSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 4 km ENE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.5 15 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.3 3 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 18 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.1 10 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.9 2 km WSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.6 6 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.6 14 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.4 3 km W of Indios, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.7 30 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 1 km ENE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.6 7 km S of Guánica, 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.