QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7Md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 10:04 pm AST (02:04 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 26 km (16 mi) WSW, at 3:45 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Ponce

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 49 km (31 mi) west-southwest of Ponce, PR, at 4:45 pm AST on 19 March 2017 (20:45 UTC), 7.0 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

38 km (24 mi) SSE of Mayagüez, PR · 122 km (76 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

4:45 pm AST, Mar 19, 2017 · · 7.0 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lajas Municipio 13 kmGuánica Municipio 18 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 19 kmSan Germán Municipio 27 kmSabana Grande Municipio 27 kmHormigueros Municipio 30 kmGuayanilla Municipio 32 kmYauco Municipio 33 kmMaricao Municipio 37 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
4:45 pm AST on 19 March 2017 ()
Where
49 km (31 mi) west-southwest of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 1.7 (Md)
Depth
7.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lajas Municipio, 13 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3524 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Ponce, 49 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: La Parguera, Pole Ojea, Palmarejo, Guánica, Lajas, Fuig.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 89× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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.

Where

Epicentre 17.8651, -67.0655. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lajas Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) ENE earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) NW earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) N earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) NNE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 30 km (19 mi) N earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 33 km S of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.4 1 km W of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.6 9 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.9 4 km NNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.7 1 km ENE of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.0 2 km WSW of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 3 km SSE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.9 9 km SW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.3 9 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.7 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.6 3 km SW of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 1 km NW of Liborio Negron Torres, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.8 19 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.6 5 km WSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.1 1 km ESE of Mayagüez, 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

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