QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 10:42 am AST (14:42 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 26 km (16 mi) WSW, at 3:45 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Ponce

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) south-southeast of Ponce, PR, at 2:01 am AST on 20 December 2019 (06:01 UTC), 18 km deep.

USGS: 13 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico

13 km (8 mi) SSE of Ponce, PR

2:01 am AST, Dec 20, 2019 · · 18 km deep · released about 10 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ponce Municipio 12 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 15 kmPeñuelas Municipio 21 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 22 kmGuayanilla Municipio 26 kmVillalba Municipio 29 kmCoamo Municipio 34 kmSalinas Municipio 35 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
2:01 am AST on 20 December 2019 ()
Where
14 km (9 mi) south-southeast of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Ponce Municipio, 12 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2518 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 Ponce, 14 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: Potala Pastillo, Capitanejo, Aguilita, Coto Laurel, Tallaboa, Playita Cortada.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 10 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 95× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 10 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 24,000 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 17.8921, -66.5858. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ponce Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) N earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 15 km (10 mi) NE earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) NW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) ENE earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) WNW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) NNE earthquakes near Villalba 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. 4.7 5 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.0 12 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.9 11 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.8 Puerto Rico region
  5. 2.7 12 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.2 18 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 14 km SW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.1 11 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.0 14 km SW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.7 13 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.6 13 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.1 13 km SW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.6 4 km SE of Jauca, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.4 0 km SE of Aguilita, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.1 14 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.