QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 1:37 pm AST (17:37 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 1.8 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) east-southeast of Ponce, PR, at 1:20 am AST on 24 April 2018 (05:20 UTC), 20 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

9 km (5 mi) ESE of Ponce, PR

1:20 am AST, Apr 24, 2018 · · 20 km deep · released about 14 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Juana Díaz Municipio 7 kmPonce Municipio 7 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 17 kmVillalba Municipio 20 kmPeñuelas Municipio 20 kmCoamo Municipio 25 kmGuayanilla Municipio 27 kmJayuya Municipio 27 kmOrocovis Municipio 30 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
1:20 am AST on 24 April 2018 ()
Where
9 km (6 mi) east-southeast of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Juana Díaz Municipio, 7 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3123 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, 9 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: Capitanejo, Potala Pastillo, Aguilita, Coto Laurel, Luis Llorens Torres, Juana Díaz.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 14 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 790,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 70× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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 17.9705, -66.5488. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) ENE earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) WNW earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) E earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) NNE earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) WNW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Coamo Municipio, PR 25 km (16 mi) NE earthquakes near Coamo Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 3 km NNW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.9 3 km N of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.0 5 km SE of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.2 Puerto Rico region
  5. 1.9 3 km NNE of Río Cañas Abajo, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.6 2 km W of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 8 km SSE of Jauca, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.8 2 km E of Aguilita, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.5 25 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.6 4 km N of Los Llanos, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.0 6 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.6 1 km SSW of Mariano Colón, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.7 8 km ESE of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.8 13 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.1 22 km SSE of Maria Antonia, 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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