Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.3ml
Earthquake near Tallaboa, PR
No earthquake was likely felt in Tallaboa in the 24 hours to 11:28 am AST (15:28 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 4.3 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) south-southwest of Tallaboa, PR, at 10:52 pm AST on 12 January 2020 (02:52 UTC), 16 km deep. 9 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 2 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
11 km (7 mi) WSW of Ponce, PR
- When
- 10:52 pm AST on 12 January 2020 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) south-southwest of Tallaboa, PR · earthquakes near Tallaboa
- Magnitude
- M 4.3 (ml)
- Depth
- 16 km below the surface
- Felt
- 9 reports · strongest reported intensity V
- Nearest
- Peñuelas Municipio, 6 km N
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2414 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Tallaboa, PR
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Tallaboa, PR. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 120 km (75 mi) from the epicentre. In Tallaboa, 3 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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: Tallaboa 3 km, intensity IV · Magas Arriba 7 km, intensity IV · Guayanilla 9 km, intensity IV · Tallaboa Alta 9 km, intensity IV · Ponce 12 km, intensity IV · Yauco 15 km, intensity III · Adjuntas 21 km, intensity III · Río Cañas Abajo 28 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 43 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 4,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.3 about 43 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 89× more
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 1,400 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 17.9716, -66.7255. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peñuelas Municipio, PR | 6 km (4 mi) | N | earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio |
| Guayanilla Municipio, PR | 9 km (5 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio |
| Ponce Municipio, PR | 13 km (8 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Ponce Municipio |
| Yauco Municipio, PR | 19 km (12 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Yauco Municipio |
| Guánica Municipio, PR | 21 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.
- 2.2 4 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
- 2.9 14 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
- 2.9 3 km E of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
- 1.8 8 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
- 2.2 4 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
- 2.8 5 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
- 3.0 5 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
- 4.2 4 km SW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
- 3.3 10 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
- 2.8 10 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
- 2.6 3 km WSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
- 2.3 8 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
- 2.5 11 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
- 2.3 6 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
- 2.8 2 km W of Guayanilla, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.