QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Guánica, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Guánica in the last 24 hours. M 2.1, 7 km (4 mi) ENE of Guánica, at 4:14 pm AST on 11 November 2026 (20:14 UTC); the estimated shaking in Guánica was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Guánica

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) southwest of Guánica, PR, at 4:08 pm AST on 22 September 2018 (20:08 UTC), 2.0 km deep.

USGS: 6 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico

36 km (22 mi) WSW of Ponce, PR · 36 km (22 mi) SSE of Mayagüez, PR

4:08 pm AST, Sep 22, 2018 · · 2.0 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Guánica Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guánica Municipio 4 kmLajas Municipio 10 kmSabana Grande Municipio 17 kmGuayanilla Municipio 19 kmYauco Municipio 20 kmSan Germán Municipio 21 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 25 kmPeñuelas Municipio 26 kmMaricao 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
4:08 pm AST on 22 September 2018 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) southwest of Guánica, PR · earthquakes near Guánica
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
2.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guánica Municipio, 4 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2972 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Guánica, 7 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: Fuig, Maria Antonia, La Parguera, Liborio Negron Torres, Palomas, Lluveras.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 89× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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

Epicentre 17.9320, -66.9560. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guánica Municipio, PR 4 km (2 mi) ENE earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) N earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) ENE earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) NNE earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) NNW earthquakes near San Germán Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 11 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.9 6 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.5 3 km N of Sabana Eneas, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.6 1 km SE of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.1 1 km N of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.1 1 km E of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.9 3 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.3 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.3 9 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.8 13 km SSE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.4 2 km NNE of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.9 18 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.6 13 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.7 5 km WSW of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.0 1 km ESE of Lluveras, 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

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