QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Potala Pastillo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Potala Pastillo in the 24 hours to 6:07 pm AST (22:07 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 1.8 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) south-southwest of Potala Pastillo, PR, at 5:52 pm AST on 18 December 2019 (21:52 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: 11 km SSW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico

14 km (8 mi) SE of Ponce, PR

5:52 pm AST, Dec 18, 2019 · · 15 km deep · released about 17 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Potala Pastillo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Juana Díaz Municipio 12 kmPonce Municipio 13 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 17 kmPeñuelas Municipio 24 kmVillalba Municipio 26 kmGuayanilla Municipio 29 kmCoamo Municipio 30 kmSalinas Municipio 31 kmJayuya Municipio 35 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
5:52 pm AST on 18 December 2019 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) south-southwest of Potala Pastillo, PR · earthquakes near Potala Pastillo
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Juana Díaz Municipio, 12 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2520 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 Potala Pastillo, 11 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: Capitanejo, Aguilita, Playita Cortada, Ponce, Coto Laurel, Santa Isabel.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 17 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 870,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 620,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 55× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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 14,000 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 17.9030, -66.5443. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) NNE earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) NNW earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) ENE earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) NW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) NNE earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) WNW earthquakes near Guayanilla 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. 2.1 13 km SW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.6 4 km SE of Jauca, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.4 0 km SE of Aguilita, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.1 14 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 13 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.6 12 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 11 km S of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.3 2 km NNW of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.5 12 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.1 10 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 7 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.9 11 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.9 11 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.0 6 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.2 13 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.