QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 4:51 am AST (08:51 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 26 km (16 mi) WSW, at 3:45 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Ponce

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) southwest of Ponce, PR, at 2:32 am AST on 7 January 2020 (06:32 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

23 km (14 mi) SW of Ponce, PR

2:32 am AST, Jan 7, 2020 · · 15 km deep · released about 51 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guayanilla Municipio 17 kmGuánica Municipio 19 kmPeñuelas Municipio 20 kmPonce Municipio 24 kmYauco Municipio 27 kmLajas Municipio 31 kmSabana Grande Municipio 32 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 34 kmAdjuntas Municipio 37 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
2:32 am AST on 7 January 2020 ()
Where
24 km (15 mi) southwest of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guayanilla Municipio, 17 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2427 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 Ponce, 24 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: Indios, Tallaboa, Magas Arriba, Maria Antonia, Guayanilla, Guánica.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 51 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 5.8 300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 210,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 19× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 51 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 300,000 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 17.8535, -66.7745. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) N earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) NW earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) NNE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) NE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) NNW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lajas 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. 5.0 7 km SE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.2 5 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.6 4 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.0 8 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.9 8 km WNW of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.1 4 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.7 9 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  8. 5.6 11 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  9. 4.6 9 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  10. 5.0 14 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.2 5 km SW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 3 km SSE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  13. 6.4 4 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.6 Puerto Rico region
  15. 2.6 9 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.