QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1Md

Earthquake near Guayabal, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Guayabal in the 24 hours to 6:59 am AST (10:59 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 28 km (17 mi) SSE, at 7:09 pm AST on 5 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Guayabal

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) northeast of Guayabal, PR, at 3:18 am AST on 6 December 2016 (07:18 UTC), 7.0 km deep.

USGS: 2 km NE of Guayabal, Puerto Rico

18 km (11 mi) NE of Ponce, PR

3:18 am AST, Dec 6, 2016 · · 7.0 km deep · released about 43 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Guayabal Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Villalba Municipio 4 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 11 kmCoamo Municipio 13 kmOrocovis Municipio 15 kmPonce Municipio 17 kmJayuya Municipio 17 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 19 kmBarranquitas Municipio 22 kmCiales Municipio 23 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
3:18 am AST on 6 December 2016 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) northeast of Guayabal, PR · earthquakes near Guayabal
Magnitude
M 2.1 (Md)
Depth
7.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Villalba Municipio, 4 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3629 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 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Guayabal, 3 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: Río Cañas Abajo 6 km, intensity II · Coamo 13 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 43 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

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

  1. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 41 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 48 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 18.0949, -66.4811. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Villalba Municipio, PR 4 km (3 mi) NNE earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) S earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Coamo Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) E earthquakes near Coamo Municipio
Orocovis Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) NNE earthquakes near Orocovis Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 17 km (10 mi) SW earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Jayuya Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) NW earthquakes near Jayuya Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 1 km ENE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.9 Puerto Rico region
  3. 1.7 9 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.7 5 km E of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.8 6 km WNW of Coto Laurel, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.2 2 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 10 km ESE of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.7 18 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.7 20 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.9 14 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 27 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 4 km W of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.2 1 km W of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.7 14 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.7 4 km SSW of Playita Cortada, 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.