QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Lares, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Lares in the 24 hours to 3:24 pm AST (19:24 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 39 km (24 mi) S, at 3:58 pm AST on 31 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Lares

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) southwest of Lares, PR, at 11:49 pm AST on 6 January 2020 (03:49 UTC), 3.0 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

93 km (58 mi) W of San Juan, PR · 24 km (15 mi) ENE of Mayagüez, PR

11:49 pm AST, Jan 6, 2020 · · 3.0 km deep · released about 20 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Lares Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Las Marías Municipio 6 kmLares Municipio 6 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 9 kmMaricao Municipio 9 kmSabana Grande Municipio 19 kmAdjuntas Municipio 20 kmSan Germán Municipio 20 kmYauco Municipio 21 kmMoca Municipio 21 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
11:49 pm AST on 6 January 2020 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) southwest of Lares, PR · earthquakes near Lares
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
3.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Las Marías Municipio, 6 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2431 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Lares, 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: Lares 7 km, intensity II · San Sebastián 11 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 20 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 760,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 540,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 48× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 20 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 5.8 on 2020-01-06 — about 760,000 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 18.2583, -66.9268. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Las Marías Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) WSW earthquakes near Las Marías Municipio
Lares Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lares Municipio
San Sebastián Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) NNW earthquakes near San Sebastián Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) S earthquakes near Maricao Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) S earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) ESE earthquakes near Adjuntas 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. 2.0 14 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 9 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.7 Puerto Rico region
  4. 2.3 9 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.1 11 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.4 12 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 7 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.6 14 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.5 5 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.6 5 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.6 1 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.4 7 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 9 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.4 12 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.7 7 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.