Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.4md
Earthquake near Ponce, PR
No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 4:59 pm AST (20:59 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 35 km (22 mi) southwest of Ponce, PR, at 5:48 pm AST on 18 July 2018 (21:48 UTC), 1.0 km deep.
USGS: Puerto Rico region
34 km (21 mi) SW of Ponce, PR
- When
- 5:48 pm AST on 18 July 2018 ()
- Where
- 35 km (22 mi) southwest of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
- Magnitude
- M 2.4 (md)
- Depth
- 1.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Guánica Municipio, 18 km NNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2960 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Ponce, PR
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Ponce, 35 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: Guánica, Maria Antonia, Fuig, Indios, Palomas, Guayanilla.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 140 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 5.8 110,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 78,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6.9× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.4 about 140 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 17.7961, -66.8656. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guánica Municipio, PR | 18 km (11 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Guánica Municipio |
| Guayanilla Municipio, PR | 24 km (15 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio |
| Lajas Municipio, PR | 27 km (17 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Lajas Municipio |
| Peñuelas Municipio, PR | 29 km (18 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio |
| Yauco Municipio, PR | 32 km (20 mi) | N | earthquakes near Yauco Municipio |
| Sabana Grande Municipio, PR | 33 km (21 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 4 km NNE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
- 1.9 7 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
- 1.8 4 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
- 2.1 4 km NNW of Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico
- 1.5 3 km NNW of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
- 1.8 7 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
- 1.6 4 km SSW of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
- 1.8 8 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
- 1.8 6 km WSW of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
- 1.8 20 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
- 1.6 2 km E of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
- 2.0 1 km W of Guayabal, Puerto Rico
- 1.8 0 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
- 1.6 Puerto Rico region
- 2.1 7 km SW of Tallaboa, 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
- 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.