QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5md

Earthquake near Tallaboa, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Tallaboa in the last 24 hours. M 2.3, 6 km (4 mi) W of Tallaboa, at 7:05 pm AST on 12 November 2026 (23:05 UTC); the estimated shaking in Tallaboa was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Tallaboa

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) south-southwest of Tallaboa, PR, at 10:41 am AST on 7 January 2020 (14:41 UTC), 19 km deep.

USGS: 3 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico

12 km (8 mi) WSW of Ponce, PR

10:41 am AST, Jan 7, 2020 · · 19 km deep · released about 5.9 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Tallaboa Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Peñuelas Municipio 7 kmGuayanilla Municipio 8 kmPonce Municipio 14 kmYauco Municipio 19 kmGuánica Municipio 20 kmAdjuntas Municipio 24 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 26 kmSabana Grande Municipio 26 kmJayuya Municipio 32 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
10:41 am AST on 7 January 2020 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) south-southwest of Tallaboa, PR · earthquakes near Tallaboa
Magnitude
M 1.5 (md)
Depth
19 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Peñuelas Municipio, 7 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2395 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Tallaboa, 4 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: Magas Arriba, Guayanilla, Indios, Tallaboa Alta, Peñuelas, Santo Domingo.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.9 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,800,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 160× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.9 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 20,000,000 times the energy of this one.

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 17.9630, -66.7333. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) N earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) NW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) ENE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) NW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 20 km (13 mi) W earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) N 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 2 km NNW of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 Puerto Rico region
  3. 1.9 3 km NNW of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.5 4 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.4 5 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.9 0 km S of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.8 6 km S of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.1 1 km W of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.0 3 km NNW of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.8 0 km S of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.9 5 km SW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.6 8 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.7 4 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.7 9 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.7 1 km SW 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.