QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 5.2mwp

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 4:28 am AST (08:28 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 5.2 earthquake was recorded 43 km (27 mi) west-southwest of Ponce, PR, at 11:36 am AST on 15 January 2020 (15:36 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 459 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

43 km (27 mi) WSW of Ponce, PR · 34 km (21 mi) SSE of Mayagüez, PR

11:36 am AST, Jan 15, 2020 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 950 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lajas Municipio 7 kmGuánica Municipio 11 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 20 kmSabana Grande Municipio 20 kmSan Germán Municipio 21 kmGuayanilla Municipio 25 kmYauco Municipio 25 kmHormigueros Municipio 27 kmMaricao Municipio 30 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
11:36 am AST on 15 January 2020 ()
Where
43 km (27 mi) west-southwest of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 5.2 (mwp)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
459 reports · strongest reported intensity VI
Measured shaking
intensity V (ShakeMap)
USGS impact alert
green
Nearest
Lajas Municipio, 7 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 324 days ago

This was a moderate earthquake. Shaking at this size can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 218 km (135 mi) from the epicentre. In Ponce, 43 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: San Germán 19 km, intensity V · Pole Ojea 19 km, intensity V · Yauco 22 km, intensity IV · Puerto Real 25 km, intensity IV · Guayanilla 26 km, intensity IV · Magas Arriba 29 km, intensity IV · Tallaboa 33 km, intensity IV · Mayagüez 34 km, intensity IV. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 950 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 6.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 180× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 7.9× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 5.2 about 950 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2,000× 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 in our catalogue was M 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 63 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 17.9155, -67.0171. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lajas Municipio, PR 7 km (5 mi) NNW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) ENE earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) WNW earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 20 km (13 mi) NNE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) N earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 25 km (16 mi) ENE earthquakes near Guayanilla 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. 2.6 7 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 2 km E of Indios, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.5 2 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 6 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.6 9 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.6 0 km W of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.1 14 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.7 16 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.8 6 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.7 7 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.7 5 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 1 km N of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.5 5 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 11 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.4 5 km S of Guánica, 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.