QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 3:33 pm AST (19:33 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 1.8 earthquake was recorded 25 km (16 mi) west-southwest of Ponce, PR, at 11:21 am AST on 7 January 2020 (15:21 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

25 km (15 mi) WSW of Ponce, PR

11:21 am AST, Jan 7, 2020 · · 12 km deep · released about 14 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guánica Municipio 9 kmGuayanilla Municipio 10 kmPeñuelas Municipio 17 kmYauco Municipio 18 kmSabana Grande Municipio 21 kmLajas Municipio 22 kmPonce Municipio 26 kmSan Germán Municipio 29 kmMaricao Municipio 29 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
11:21 am AST on 7 January 2020 ()
Where
25 km (16 mi) west-southwest of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guánica Municipio, 9 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2392 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Ponce, 25 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: Maria Antonia, Indios, Guánica, Palomas, Fuig, Guayanilla.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 14 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 760,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 68× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 8,500,000 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 17.9270, -66.8438. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guánica Municipio, PR 9 km (5 mi) WNW earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) NNE earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 17 km (10 mi) NE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) N earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) NNW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 22 km (13 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. 1.9 3 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.3 28 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.0 Puerto Rico region
  4. 2.5 4 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.2 1 km WNW of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.9 4 km SE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.2 2 km SE of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 0 km W of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.3 1 km S of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.1 2 km W of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  11. 4.6 3 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.6 2 km NNE of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 12 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 6 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.5 4 km S 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.