Earthquake near Potala Pastillo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Potala Pastillo in the 24 hours to 5:21 pm AST (21:21 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 6 km (4 mi) NW, at 10:09 am AST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Potala Pastillo

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 2 km (1 mi) south-southwest of Potala Pastillo, PR, at 11:22 am AST on 19 December 2017 (15:22 UTC), 13 km deep.

USGS: 1 km SSW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico

13 km (8 mi) ESE of Ponce, PR

11:22 am AST, Dec 19, 2017 · 2017-12-19 15:22 UTC · 13 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Potala Pastillo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area

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: 11:22 am AST on 19 December 2017 (2017-12-19 15:22 UTC)
Where: 2 km (1 mi) south-southwest of Potala Pastillo, PR · earthquakes near Potala Pastillo
Magnitude: M 2.4 (md)
Depth: 13 km below the surface
Felt: no reports yet
Nearest: Juana Díaz Municipio, 3 km NNE
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 3165 days ago · we first saw it 3165 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 Potala Pastillo, 2 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 8 km, intensity II · Santa Isabel 10 km, intensity II · Ponce 14 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 120 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.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 120,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 86,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.7× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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

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Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR	3 km (2 mi)	NNE	earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR	11 km (7 mi)	WNW	earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR	12 km (8 mi)	E	earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR	18 km (11 mi)	N	earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Coamo Municipio, PR	21 km (13 mi)	NE	earthquakes near Coamo Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR	25 km (15 mi)	WNW	earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

2.2 23 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico 00:04 UTC
2.0 9 km NNE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico 23:36 UTC
2.2 9 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico 19:56 UTC
1.5 10 km S of Jobos, Puerto Rico 19:19 UTC
1.6 8 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico 17:16 UTC
1.8 8 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico 15:54 UTC
2.0 7 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico 15:39 UTC
2.3 8 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico 15:33 UTC
2.5 9 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico 13:55 UTC
1.9 11 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico 11:46 UTC
2.3 9 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico 11:14 UTC
2.1 9 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico 11:01 UTC
2.1 8 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico 10:26 UTC
2.1 8 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico 10:06 UTC
2.3 11 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico 09:45 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 21:21 UTC. QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.