QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Tallaboa Alta, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Tallaboa Alta in the 24 hours to 4:28 pm AST (20:28 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 10 km (6 mi) WSW, at 4:39 pm AST on 9 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Tallaboa Alta

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) northeast of Tallaboa Alta, PR, at 12:17 am AST on 29 December 2019 (04:17 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 8 km NE of Tallaboa Alta, Puerto Rico

11 km (7 mi) N of Ponce, PR

12:17 am AST, Dec 29, 2019 · · 14 km deep · released about 44 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Tallaboa Alta Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ponce Municipio 11 kmPeñuelas Municipio 12 kmJayuya Municipio 14 kmAdjuntas Municipio 16 kmVillalba Municipio 18 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 19 kmGuayanilla Municipio 20 kmUtuado Municipio 21 kmYauco Municipio 24 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
12:17 am AST on 29 December 2019 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) northeast of Tallaboa Alta, PR · earthquakes near Tallaboa Alta
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Ponce Municipio, 11 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2509 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 Tallaboa Alta, 8 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: Tallaboa Alta 8 km, intensity II · Ponce 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 44 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 340,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 240,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 44 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 22,000 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 18.0945, -66.6348. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ponce Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) SSE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) SW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Jayuya Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) NNE earthquakes near Jayuya Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) NW earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) ENE earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) SE earthquakes near Juana Díaz 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 Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.7 8 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.2 13 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.2 10 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.1 5 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.9 13 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 9 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.6 5 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.8 10 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 13 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.6 9 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.0 8 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.5 11 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.6 12 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.7 11 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.