QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Vázquez, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Vázquez in the 24 hours to 11:30 am AST (15:30 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 30 km (19 mi) SW, at 7:09 pm AST on 5 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Vázquez

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) southwest of Vázquez, PR, at 5:27 am AST on 12 December 2019 (09:27 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 2 km SW of Vázquez, Puerto Rico

45 km (28 mi) SSW of San Juan, PR · 31 km (19 mi) SW of Caguas, PR

5:27 am AST, Dec 12, 2019 · · 14 km deep · released about 79 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Vázquez Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Salinas Municipio 8 kmAibonito Municipio 9 kmCayey Municipio 13 kmCoamo Municipio 13 kmGuayama Municipio 15 kmCidra Municipio 17 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 17 kmBarranquitas Municipio 18 kmComerío Municipio 20 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
5:27 am AST on 12 December 2019 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) southwest of Vázquez, PR · earthquakes near Vázquez
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Salinas Municipio, 8 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2526 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 Vázquez, 3 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: Coamo 12 km, intensity II · Cayey 12 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 79 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 190,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 12× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 79 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 2016-12-05 — about 3,000 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 27 km NNE of this epicentre

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 18.0460, -66.2546. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Salinas Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) S earthquakes near Salinas Municipio
Aibonito Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) N earthquakes near Aibonito Municipio
Cayey Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) ENE earthquakes near Cayey Municipio
Coamo Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) WNW earthquakes near Coamo Municipio
Guayama Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) ESE earthquakes near Guayama Municipio
Cidra Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) NE earthquakes near Cidra Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 11 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.9 16 km SSW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.8 8 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.3 11 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 11 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.9 10 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 13 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.9 12 km SW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.1 12 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.1 Puerto Rico region
  11. 1.9 11 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.1 12 km S of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.4 4 km SSW of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.7 13 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.9 10 km SSE of Ponce, 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.