QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 1:02 pm AST (17:02 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 2.8 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) south of Ponce, PR, at 4:46 pm AST on 2 September 2017 (20:46 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 43 km SSW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico

44 km (27 mi) S of Ponce, PR · 105 km (65 mi) SSW of San Juan, PR

4:46 pm AST, Sep 2, 2017 · · 14 km deep · released about 510 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ponce Municipio 44 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 44 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 45 kmPeñuelas Municipio 49 kmGuayanilla Municipio 49 kmGuánica Municipio 51 kmSalinas Municipio 54 kmVillalba Municipio 60 kmYauco Municipio 60 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
4:46 pm AST on 2 September 2017 ()
Where
45 km (28 mi) south of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Ponce Municipio, 44 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3357 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 24 km (15 mi) from the epicentre. In Ponce, 45 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 510 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 30,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 21,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 510 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 17.6076, -66.6000. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ponce Municipio, PR 44 km (27 mi) N earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR 44 km (28 mi) NNE earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 45 km (28 mi) NNE earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 49 km (30 mi) NNW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 49 km (30 mi) NNW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 51 km (32 mi) NW earthquakes near Guánica Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 20 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.9 19 km SSE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.1 3 km SW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.7 25 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.9 33 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 7 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.7 13 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.0 5 km SE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.2 19 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.3 2 km NNW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.9 3 km NNW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.6 1 km E of Capitanejo, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.7 11 km S of Jauca, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.4 1 km SSW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.2 6 km SSE of Jauca, 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.