QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Jayuya, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Jayuya in the 24 hours to 12:12 pm AST (16:12 UTC). The last one was M 3.3, 43 km (27 mi) SSE, at 8:40 am AST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Jayuya

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 7 km (5 mi) southwest of Jayuya, PR, at 4:59 am AST on 2 January 2020 (08:59 UTC), 7.0 km deep.

USGS: 7 km SW of Jayuya, Puerto Rico

19 km (12 mi) N of Ponce, PR

4:59 am AST, Jan 2, 2020 · · 7.0 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Jayuya Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Jayuya Municipio 7 kmAdjuntas Municipio 12 kmUtuado Municipio 13 kmPeñuelas Municipio 19 kmVillalba Municipio 19 kmCiales Municipio 19 kmPonce Municipio 19 kmOrocovis Municipio 22 kmFlorida Municipio 23 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
4:59 am AST on 2 January 2020 ()
Where
7 km (5 mi) southwest of Jayuya, PR · earthquakes near Jayuya
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
7.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Jayuya Municipio, 7 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2470 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 Jayuya, 7 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: Jayuya 7 km, intensity II · Adjuntas 8 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 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 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 930,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 83× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 83,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 44 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 48 km NE of this epicentre

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 18.1731, -66.6436. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Jayuya Municipio, PR 7 km (5 mi) NE earthquakes near Jayuya Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) W earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Utuado Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) NNW earthquakes near Utuado Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) SSW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) ESE earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Ciales Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) NE earthquakes near Ciales 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. 2.3 8 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.9 8 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.5 9 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.6 7 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.0 11 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.3 9 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.9 15 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.7 Puerto Rico region
  9. 4.5 8 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.9 7 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 4 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.8 7 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.6 6 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.9 8 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.7 10 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.