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 3:33 pm AST (19:33 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 4 km (2 mi) northeast of Ponce, PR, at 4:06 am AST on 26 April 2018 (08:06 UTC), 16 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

in Ponce, PR

4:06 am AST, Apr 26, 2018 · · 16 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ponce Municipio 4 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 13 kmPeñuelas Municipio 13 kmVillalba Municipio 17 kmJayuya Municipio 19 kmGuayanilla Municipio 21 kmAdjuntas Municipio 23 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 25 kmOrocovis Municipio 27 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
4:06 am AST on 26 April 2018 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) northeast of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 2.4 (md)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Ponce Municipio, 4 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3121 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Ponce, 4 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: Ponce 4 km, intensity II · Tallaboa Alta 10 km, intensity II · Tallaboa 13 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.9× the energy of this one
  4. 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.

Where

Epicentre 18.0378, -66.6043. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ponce Municipio, PR 4 km (2 mi) S earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) ESE earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) W earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) NE earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Jayuya Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) N earthquakes near Jayuya Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) W earthquakes near Guayanilla 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. 1.8 3 km WSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.9 Puerto Rico region
  3. 1.6 3 km E of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.6 4 km SW of Capitanejo, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.2 4 km WSW of Capitanejo, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.5 3 km SW of Capitanejo, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 20 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.0 1 km E of Parcelas Nuevas, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.2 3 km NNW of Orocovis, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.7 1 km ESE of Guayabal, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.7 1 km NW of Lluveras, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.8 5 km SSW of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.7 5 km WSW of Liborio Negron Torres, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.6 8 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.0 6 km ESE of Maricao, 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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