QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Earthquake near Potala Pastillo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Potala Pastillo in the 24 hours to 10:48 am AST (14:48 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 6 km (4 mi) NW, at 10:09 am AST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Potala Pastillo

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 21 km (13 mi) south-southwest of Potala Pastillo, PR, at 8:18 pm AST on 16 December 2019 (00:18 UTC), 13 km deep.

USGS: 21 km SSW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico

21 km (13 mi) SSE of Ponce, PR

8:18 pm AST, Dec 16, 2019 · · 13 km deep · released about 28 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Potala Pastillo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ponce Municipio 20 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 22 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 26 kmPeñuelas Municipio 28 kmGuayanilla Municipio 31 kmVillalba Municipio 37 kmSalinas Municipio 38 kmGuánica Municipio 39 kmCoamo Municipio 40 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
8:18 pm AST on 16 December 2019 ()
Where
21 km (13 mi) south-southwest of Potala Pastillo, PR · earthquakes near Potala Pastillo
Magnitude
M 2.0 (md)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Ponce Municipio, 20 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2521 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Potala Pastillo, 21 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: Ponce, Capitanejo, Aguilita, Playita Cortada, Tallaboa, Santa Isabel.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 28 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 540,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 380,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 34× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 28 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 8,500 times the energy of this one.

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 17.8188, -66.5845. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ponce Municipio, PR 20 km (13 mi) N earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) NNE earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) NE earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 28 km (17 mi) NNW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) NW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 37 km (23 mi) NNE earthquakes near Villalba Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 12 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.1 10 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.3 7 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.9 11 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.9 11 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.0 6 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.2 13 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 3 km ENE of Mariano Colón, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.9 8 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.0 6 km N of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 10 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.7 12 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.4 12 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.3 9 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.2 12 km SW of Potala Pastillo, 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.