QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 11:23 am AST (15:23 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) north of Ponce, PR, at 10:38 pm AST on 7 March 2018 (02:38 UTC), 17 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

12 km (8 mi) N of Ponce, PR

10:38 pm AST, Mar 7, 2018 · · 17 km deep · released about 9 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ponce Municipio 12 kmJayuya Municipio 12 kmPeñuelas Municipio 14 kmVillalba Municipio 16 kmAdjuntas Municipio 16 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 19 kmUtuado Municipio 20 kmGuayanilla Municipio 22 kmOrocovis 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
10:38 pm AST on 7 March 2018 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) north of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Ponce Municipio, 12 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3170 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Ponce, 11 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Coto Laurel, Tallaboa Alta, Luis Llorens Torres, Peñuelas, Adjuntas, Jayuya.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 9 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 9 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 18.1083, -66.6236. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ponce Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) S earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Jayuya Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) NNE earthquakes near Jayuya Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) SW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) E earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) WNW earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) SE earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 1 km SSE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 2 km ESE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.3 3 km ESE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.4 3 km ESE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.9 5 km ESE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.4 3 km ESE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.0 0 km SE of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.9 8 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.4 2 km SSW of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 7 km NW of Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.9 4 km SSW of Liborio Negron Torres, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 17 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.7 4 km SW of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.2 13 km S of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.7 13 km SSE of Guánica, 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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