Earthquake near Río Cañas Abajo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Río Cañas Abajo in the 24 hours to 10:08 am AST (14:08 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 22 km (14 mi) SSE, at 7:09 pm AST on 5 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Río Cañas Abajo

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded in Río Cañas Abajo, PR, at 4:08 pm AST on 4 November 2019 (20:08 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: 1 km SSW of Río Cañas Abajo, Puerto Rico

16 km (10 mi) E of Ponce, PR

4:08 pm AST, Nov 4, 2019 · 2019-11-04 20:08 UTC · 10 km deep · released about 51 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Río Cañas Abajo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area

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 4 November 2019 (2019-11-04 20:08 UTC)
Where: in Río Cañas Abajo, PR · earthquakes near Río Cañas Abajo
Magnitude: M 2.1 (md)
Depth: 10 km below the surface
Felt: no reports yet
Nearest: Juana Díaz Municipio, 4 km SW
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 2564 days ago · we first saw it 2564 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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Río Cañas Abajo in town, intensity II · Santa Isabel 10 km, intensity II · Coamo 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 51 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 300,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 210,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 19× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 2.1 about 51 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.6 on 2019-03-12 — about 4,700 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 44 km NE of this epicentre Dec 24, 2010

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

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR	4 km (2 mi)	SW	earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR	12 km (7 mi)	N	earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR	12 km (7 mi)	SE	earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR	15 km (9 mi)	W	earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Coamo Municipio, PR	15 km (9 mi)	NE	earthquakes near Coamo Municipio
Orocovis Municipio, PR	22 km (14 mi)	N	earthquakes near Orocovis 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.

2.1 12 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico 19:25 UTC
2.7 11 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico 13:30 UTC
2.4 12 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico 00:44 UTC
1.8 7 km WSW of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico 08:56 UTC
2.0 2 km SSE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico 06:03 UTC
3.1 0 km ESE of Río Lajas, Puerto Rico 21:38 UTC
2.2 13 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico 15:21 UTC
2.3 9 km SSW of Central Aguirre, Puerto Rico 23:41 UTC
1.6 Puerto Rico region 01:04 UTC
2.3 13 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico 16:50 UTC
2.3 5 km S of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico 18:01 UTC
1.9 17 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico 17:52 UTC
2.3 4 km SSW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico 15:06 UTC
1.8 5 km SE of Jauca, Puerto Rico 00:50 UTC
2.0 26 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico 13:01 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 14:08 UTC. 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.