QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Sabana Grande, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Sabana Grande in the 24 hours to 10:43 am AST (14:43 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 22 km (13 mi) SSE, at 3:45 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Sabana Grande

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) northeast of Sabana Grande, PR, at 10:14 pm AST on 14 December 2019 (02:14 UTC), 20 km deep.

USGS: 6 km NE of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico

33 km (21 mi) WNW of Ponce, PR · 26 km (16 mi) ESE of Mayagüez, PR

10:14 pm AST, Dec 14, 2019 · · 20 km deep · released about 25 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Sabana Grande Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sabana Grande Municipio 5 kmMaricao Municipio 7 kmYauco Municipio 7 kmSan Germán Municipio 13 kmLas Marías Municipio 14 kmGuayanilla Municipio 17 kmAdjuntas Municipio 18 kmLares Municipio 18 kmGuánica Municipio 19 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
10:14 pm AST on 14 December 2019 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) northeast of Sabana Grande, PR · earthquakes near Sabana Grande
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sabana Grande Municipio, 5 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2523 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 Sabana Grande, 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: Liborio Negron Torres, Lluveras, Maricao, Yauco, Palomas, San Germán.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 25 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 620,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 440,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 39× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 25 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 4.3 on 2019-09-05 — about 3,500 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 48 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 36 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 49 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 49 km W 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 18.1168, -66.9146. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) SW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) NNW earthquakes near Maricao Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) ESE earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) W earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Las Marías Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) NNW earthquakes near Las Marías Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) SE earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 11 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 9 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.2 1 km SE of Piedra Gorda, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.3 11 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.6 10 km ESE of Maricao, 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. 2.3 8 km SSW of Guánica, 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.