QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 11:23 am AST (15:23 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 2.8 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) south-southeast of Ponce, PR, at 3:00 pm AST on 28 December 2019 (19:00 UTC), 8.0 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

14 km (8 mi) SSE of Ponce, PR

3:00 pm AST, Dec 28, 2019 · · 8.0 km deep · released about 420 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ponce Municipio 13 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 16 kmPeñuelas Municipio 22 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 22 kmGuayanilla Municipio 26 kmVillalba Municipio 30 kmCoamo Municipio 34 kmSalinas Municipio 36 kmGuánica Municipio 36 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
3:00 pm AST on 28 December 2019 ()
Where
15 km (9 mi) south-southeast of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
8.0 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Ponce Municipio, 13 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2433 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 25 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Ponce, 15 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: Ponce 15 km, intensity II · Tallaboa 19 km, intensity II · Santa Isabel 21 km, intensity II · Río Cañas Abajo 21 km, intensity II · Tallaboa Alta 22 km, intensity II · Magas Arriba 24 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 420 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 36,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 26,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.3× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 420 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 in our catalogue was M 4.6 on 2019-03-12 — about 580 times the energy of this one.

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 17.8825, -66.5861. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ponce Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) N earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) NE earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 22 km (14 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 30 km (19 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. 2.2 9 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 6 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.5 9 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.0 7 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.0 4 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 12 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.8 7 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 12 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.7 10 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.3 9 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.7 3 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.8 8 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.9 7 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.0 19 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.1 10 km SSE of Maria Antonia, 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.