QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.2md

Earthquake near Pole Ojea, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Pole Ojea in the 24 hours to 10:13 am AST (14:13 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 8 km (5 mi) ENE, at 11:57 pm AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Pole Ojea

This page: a magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) west of Pole Ojea, PR, at 2:47 pm AST on 22 March 2026 (18:47 UTC), 9.7 km deep.

USGS: 29 km W of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico

89 km (55 mi) W of Ponce, PR · 42 km (26 mi) SW of Mayagüez, PR

2:47 pm AST, Mar 22, 2026 · · 9.7 km deep · released about 1.1 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Pole Ojea Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cabo Rojo Municipio 30 kmHormigueros Municipio 40 kmLajas Municipio 45 kmRincón Municipio 45 kmMayagüez Municipio 46 kmSan Germán Municipio 47 kmAñasco Municipio 49 kmAguada Municipio 52 kmSabana Grande Municipio 56 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
2:47 pm AST on 22 March 2026 ()
Where
29 km (18 mi) west of Pole Ojea, PR · earthquakes near Pole Ojea
Magnitude
M 3.2 (md)
Depth
9.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cabo Rojo Municipio, 30 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 160 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 47 km (29 mi) from the epicentre. In Pole Ojea, 29 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 29 km, intensity II · Puerto Real 31 km, intensity II · Mayagüez 42 km, intensity II · Rincón 45 km, intensity II · San Germán 46 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1.1 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 160,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 7,200× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,100× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.2 about 1.1 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.2× 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 5.3 on 2020-07-03 — about 1,300 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 · 25 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 23 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 17.9853, -67.4635. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 30 km (19 mi) E earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 40 km (25 mi) ENE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 45 km (28 mi) E earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 45 km (28 mi) NNE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 46 km (29 mi) WNW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 47 km (29 mi) ENE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 20 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.1 22 km W of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.3 5 km E of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.2 1 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.0 4 km W of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.1 1 km SSE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.9 34 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.3 63 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.2 6 km NNE of Sabana Eneas, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.6 3 km E of Boquerón, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.1 2 km ESE of Boquerón, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.5 5 km WNW of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.6 6 km NNE of Sabana Eneas, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.8 47 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.9 10 km SW of Stella, 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.