QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Earthquake near Guayanilla, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Guayanilla in the 24 hours to 12:50 pm AST (16:50 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, in Guayanilla, at 4:39 pm AST on 9 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Guayanilla

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Guayanilla, PR, at 8:45 am AST on 7 January 2020 (12:45 UTC), 7.0 km deep.

USGS: 3 km NNW of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico

20 km (12 mi) WNW of Ponce, PR

8:45 am AST, Jan 7, 2020 · · 7.0 km deep · released about 31 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Guayanilla Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guayanilla Municipio 5 kmYauco Municipio 7 kmPeñuelas Municipio 8 kmSabana Grande Municipio 16 kmAdjuntas Municipio 16 kmGuánica Municipio 17 kmMaricao Municipio 20 kmPonce Municipio 22 kmSan Germán Municipio 25 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
8:45 am AST on 7 January 2020 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Guayanilla, PR · earthquakes near Guayanilla
Magnitude
M 2.0 (md)
Depth
7.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guayanilla Municipio, 5 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2405 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 Guayanilla, 3 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: Guayanilla 3 km, intensity II · Yauco 5 km, intensity II · Magas Arriba 5 km, intensity II · Tallaboa 11 km, intensity II · Tallaboa Alta 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 31 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 480,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 340,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 31× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 31 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 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 3,800,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 48 km NW 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 18.0461, -66.8053. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) S earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) NW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) ESE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) WNW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) NNE earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 17 km (10 mi) SW earthquakes near Guánica 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. 4.2 6 km SE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.6 3 km S of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.7 3 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.7 1 km NNE of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.0 13 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.5 0 km NNW of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.7 9 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.5 1 km E of Indios, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.8 Puerto Rico region
  10. 1.9 10 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 26 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.8 Puerto Rico region
  13. 2.0 7 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.8 1 km SSE of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.8 2 km NNW of Magas Arriba, 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.