QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8ml

Earthquake near Indios, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Indios in the 24 hours to 9:36 am AST (13:36 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 3 km (2 mi) SW, at 4:21 am AST on 10 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Indios

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) south-southeast of Indios, PR, at 4:18 am AST on 12 January 2020 (08:18 UTC), 7.0 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 5 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico

19 km (12 mi) WSW of Ponce, PR

4:18 am AST, Jan 12, 2020 · · 7.0 km deep · released about 480 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Indios Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guayanilla Municipio 6 kmPeñuelas Municipio 11 kmGuánica Municipio 13 kmYauco Municipio 16 kmPonce Municipio 21 kmSabana Grande Municipio 22 kmAdjuntas Municipio 26 kmLajas Municipio 26 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
4:18 am AST on 12 January 2020 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) south-southeast of Indios, PR · earthquakes near Indios
Magnitude
M 2.8 (ml)
Depth
7.0 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Guayanilla Municipio, 6 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2414 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 26 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Indios, 5 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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 8 km, intensity III · Magas Arriba 8 km, intensity III · Tallaboa 10 km, intensity III · Yauco 11 km, intensity III · Tallaboa Alta 15 km, intensity II · Ponce 19 km, intensity II · Adjuntas 25 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 480 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 32,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 480 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 250,000 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 17.9511, -66.7956. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) N earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) NE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) W earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) NNW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) ENE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) NW earthquakes near Sabana Grande 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. 2.9 8 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.3 2 km NNW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.9 3 km E of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.8 11 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.9 6 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.2 3 km E of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.5 11 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 11 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.4 3 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.8 Puerto Rico region
  11. 2.2 3 km W of Indios, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.2 5 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.9 2 km SE of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.9 9 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.6 7 km SSW of Tallaboa, 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.