QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 11:29 am AST (15:29 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 2.4 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) south-southeast of Ponce, PR, at 1:35 pm AST on 5 October 2017 (17:35 UTC), 13 km deep.

USGS: 37 km S of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico

96 km (59 mi) SSW of San Juan, PR · 44 km (27 mi) SSE of Ponce, PR

1:35 pm AST, Oct 5, 2017 · · 13 km deep · released about 130 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Santa Isabel Municipio 36 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 40 kmPonce Municipio 43 kmSalinas Municipio 43 kmPeñuelas Municipio 51 kmGuayama Municipio 51 kmCoamo Municipio 53 kmGuayanilla Municipio 54 kmVillalba Municipio 55 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
1:35 pm AST on 5 October 2017 ()
Where
45 km (28 mi) south-southeast of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 2.4 (md)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Santa Isabel Municipio, 36 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3313 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 17 km (11 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 130 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 120,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 83,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 130 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 17.6351, -66.4688. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR 36 km (23 mi) NNE earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 40 km (25 mi) N earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 43 km (27 mi) NNW earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Salinas Municipio, PR 43 km (27 mi) NNE earthquakes near Salinas Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 51 km (32 mi) NNW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guayama Municipio, PR 51 km (32 mi) NE earthquakes near Guayama 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. 2.7 24 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.1 3 km SW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.2 12 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 10 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.9 17 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.0 14 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.1 10 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.6 20 km S of Arroyo, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.5 16 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.1 3 km SW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.9 1 km SSW of Guayabal, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.7 13 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.0 5 km SE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.2 19 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.3 2 km NNW of Potala Pastillo, 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.