QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 8:55 pm AST (00:55 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 1.7 earthquake was recorded 17 km (11 mi) northwest of Ponce, PR, at 5:00 am AST on 12 February 2019 (09:00 UTC), 17 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

18 km (11 mi) NW of Ponce, PR

5:00 am AST, Feb 12, 2019 · · 17 km deep · released about 9.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Adjuntas Municipio 7 kmPeñuelas Municipio 11 kmYauco Municipio 14 kmGuayanilla Municipio 15 kmUtuado Municipio 17 kmJayuya Municipio 19 kmPonce Municipio 19 kmMaricao Municipio 22 kmLares Municipio 22 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
5:00 am AST on 12 February 2019 ()
Where
17 km (11 mi) northwest of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Adjuntas Municipio, 7 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2829 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, 17 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: Adjuntas, Santo Domingo, Peñuelas, Tallaboa Alta, Magas Arriba, Guayanilla.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 9.6 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 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 99× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.6 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 18.1230, -66.7356. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) NNW earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) S earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 14 km (8 mi) WSW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) SSW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Utuado Municipio, PR 17 km (10 mi) NNE earthquakes near Utuado Municipio
Jayuya Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) ENE earthquakes near Jayuya Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 9 km SW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.9 5 km W of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.8 6 km E of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.6 0 km SW of Boquerón, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.9 2 km N of Monte Grande, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.4 3 km SE of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.7 1 km NW of Parcelas Peñuelas, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.6 1 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.2 2 km W of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.8 2 km SW of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.2 1 km NNW of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.7 2 km SSW of Tallaboa Alta, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 3 km S of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.0 5 km SW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.0 5 km NE of La Parguera, 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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