QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 6.4mw

Earthquake near Indios, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Indios in the 24 hours to 1:04 am AST (05:04 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 5 km (3 mi) E, at 7:05 pm AST on 12 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Indios

This page: a magnitude 6.4 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) south-southeast of Indios, PR, at 4:24 am AST on 7 January 2020 (08:24 UTC), 6.0 km deep. 1,615 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 4 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico

20 km (13 mi) WSW of Ponce, PR

4:24 am AST, Jan 7, 2020 · · 6.0 km deep · released about 60 kilotons of TNT

Every earthquake near Indios Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guayanilla Municipio 5 kmPeñuelas Municipio 12 kmGuánica Municipio 12 kmYauco Municipio 15 kmSabana Grande Municipio 20 kmPonce Municipio 22 kmLajas Municipio 24 kmAdjuntas Municipio 26 kmMaricao Municipio 27 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
4:24 am AST on 7 January 2020 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) south-southeast of Indios, PR · earthquakes near Indios
Magnitude
M 6.4 (mw)
Depth
6.0 km below the surface
Felt
1,615 reports · strongest reported intensity VIII
Measured shaking
intensity VIII (ShakeMap)
USGS impact alert
orange
Tsunami
USGS flagged this event for tsunami evaluation. Follow tsunami.gov for official messages.
Nearest
Guayanilla Municipio, 5 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 327 days ago

This was a strong earthquake. Damage is likely near the epicentre and it is felt over a wide area.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 430 km (267 mi) from the epicentre. In Indios, 4 km away, the estimate is intensity VII (very strong). 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: Guayanilla 7 km, intensity VII · Magas Arriba 8 km, intensity VII · Yauco 10 km, intensity VII · Tallaboa 11 km, intensity VII · Tallaboa Alta 16 km, intensity VI · Ponce 21 km, intensity VI · Adjuntas 25 km, intensity VI · San Germán 28 km, intensity VI. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 60 kilotons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 7.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Ridgecrest, California 2019 M 7.1 11× the energy of this one
  2. Loma Prieta, California 1989 M 6.9 5.6× the energy of this one
  3. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 2.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 6.4 about 60 kilotons of TNT
  5. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 this one released 7.9× more
  6. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 this one released 11× more

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 (31 mi) since our catalogue begins in 2016. The previous largest was M 5.8 on 2020-01-06.

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 17.9578, -66.8113. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) NNE earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) NE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) W earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) NNW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 20 km (13 mi) NW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) ENE earthquakes near Ponce 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. 4.1 7 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.6 6 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.3 2 km SE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.4 Puerto Rico region
  5. 2.9 13 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.3 4 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.9 3 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.8 10 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.6 6 km SE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.3 5 km SW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.4 2 km SE of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.0 5 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.8 2 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.3 8 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  15. 4.7 9 km SSE of Tallaboa, 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.