QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near La Parguera, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in La Parguera in the last 24 hours. M 2.2, 12 km (7 mi) ESE of La Parguera, at 4:44 am AST on 18 October 2026 (08:44 UTC); the estimated shaking in La Parguera was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near La Parguera

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) east of La Parguera, PR, at 5:09 am AST on 15 October 2026 (09:09 UTC), 13 km deep.

USGS: 4 km E of La Parguera, Puerto Rico

40 km (25 mi) W of Ponce, PR · 28 km (18 mi) SSE of Mayagüez, PR

5:09 am AST, Oct 15, 2026 · · 13 km deep · released about 72 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near La Parguera Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lajas Municipio 4 kmGuánica Municipio 9 kmSabana Grande Municipio 13 kmSan Germán Municipio 14 kmYauco Municipio 19 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 19 kmHormigueros Municipio 21 kmGuayanilla Municipio 22 kmMaricao Municipio 22 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
5:09 am AST on 15 October 2026 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) east of La Parguera, PR · earthquakes near La Parguera
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lajas Municipio, 4 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 4 days ago

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

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In La Parguera, 5 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: La Parguera 5 km, intensity II · Fuig 9 km, intensity II · Liborio Negron Torres 9 km, intensity II · Lajas 10 km, intensity II · Guánica 10 km, intensity II · Palmarejo 10 km, intensity II · Sabana Grande 11 km, intensity II · San Germán 12 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 72 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 210,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 150,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 13× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 72 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 1,700,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 47 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 45 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 44 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 17.9830, -67.0017. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lajas Municipio, PR 4 km (3 mi) W earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) ESE earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) NNE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) NNW earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) NE earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) W earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 6 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.1 5 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.2 4 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.0 1 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.7 7 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.4 6 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 7 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.3 7 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.3 7 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 5 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.1 4 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.0 1 km NNE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.3 2 km SE 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.