QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Tallaboa, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Tallaboa in the 24 hours to 5:54 pm AST (21:54 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 9 km (5 mi) WNW, at 4:39 pm AST on 9 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Tallaboa

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) south of Tallaboa, PR, at 2:11 pm AST on 7 January 2020 (18:11 UTC), 20 km deep.

USGS: 9 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico

14 km (9 mi) SW of Ponce, PR

2:11 pm AST, Jan 7, 2020 · · 20 km deep · released about 14 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Tallaboa Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Peñuelas Municipio 13 kmGuayanilla Municipio 13 kmPonce Municipio 16 kmGuánica Municipio 22 kmYauco Municipio 24 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 26 kmAdjuntas Municipio 30 kmSabana Grande Municipio 31 kmLajas Municipio 35 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
2:11 pm AST on 7 January 2020 ()
Where
9 km (6 mi) south of Tallaboa, PR · earthquakes near Tallaboa
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Peñuelas Municipio, 13 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2358 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, 9 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, Indios, Guayanilla, Ponce, Tallaboa Alta, Peñuelas.

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 since 2016 was M 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 8,500,000 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 17.9118, -66.7190. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) N earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) NW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) NE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) W earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) NW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) ENE earthquakes near Juana Díaz 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. 2.3 4 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.1 3 km SE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.5 3 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.1 1 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.8 2 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.7 6 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.8 7 km WSW of Cayuco, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.7 2 km NNW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.5 1 km WNW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.8 1 km NNE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.1 1 km S of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.1 2 km S of Lluveras, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.3 7 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.2 5 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.4 1 km WSW 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.