QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Santa Isabel, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Santa Isabel in the 24 hours to 1:02 pm AST (17:02 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 9 km (6 mi) NE, at 5:05 pm AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Santa Isabel

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 23 km (14 mi) south-southwest of Santa Isabel, PR, at 9:25 pm AST on 28 December 2019 (01:25 UTC), 17 km deep.

USGS: 23 km SSW of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico

31 km (19 mi) SSE of Ponce, PR

9:25 pm AST, Dec 28, 2019 · · 17 km deep · released about 91 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Santa Isabel Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Santa Isabel Municipio 22 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 26 kmPonce Municipio 30 kmSalinas Municipio 31 kmCoamo Municipio 39 kmPeñuelas Municipio 40 kmVillalba Municipio 41 kmGuayama Municipio 42 kmGuayanilla Municipio 44 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
9:25 pm AST on 28 December 2019 ()
Where
23 km (14 mi) south-southwest of Santa Isabel, PR · earthquakes near Santa Isabel
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Santa Isabel Municipio, 22 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2433 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Santa Isabel, 23 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: Playita Cortada, Jauca, Potala Pastillo, El Ojo, Las Ollas, Capitanejo.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 91 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 170,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 120,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 10× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 91 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 5.0 on 2019-12-29 — about 10,000 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 17.7644, -66.4633. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) NNE earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) N earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 30 km (19 mi) NNW earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Salinas Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) NE earthquakes near Salinas Municipio
Coamo Municipio, PR 39 km (24 mi) NNE earthquakes near Coamo Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 40 km (25 mi) NW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 14 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.1 8 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.7 12 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.5 5 km S of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.9 11 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.8 5 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.9 5 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.8 13 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.8 9 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.8 8 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.8 10 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.1 7 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 8 km NE of Tallaboa Alta, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.7 Puerto Rico region
  15. 1.9 11 km S of Indios, 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.