QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0md

Earthquake near Indios, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Indios in the last 24 hours. M 2.1, 3 km (2 mi) W of Indios, at 4:14 pm AST on 11 November 2026 (20:14 UTC); the estimated shaking in Indios was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Indios

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) south of Indios, PR, at 6:44 pm AST on 16 January 2020 (22:44 UTC), 6.0 km deep.

USGS: 14 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico

23 km (14 mi) SW of Ponce, PR

6:44 pm AST, Jan 16, 2020 · · 6.0 km deep · released about 1,000 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guayanilla Municipio 15 kmGuánica Municipio 16 kmPeñuelas Municipio 19 kmPonce Municipio 25 kmYauco Municipio 25 kmLajas Municipio 29 kmSabana Grande Municipio 29 kmAdjuntas Municipio 35 kmJuana Díaz 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
6:44 pm AST on 16 January 2020 ()
Where
14 km (9 mi) south of Indios, PR · earthquakes near Indios
Magnitude
M 3.0 (md)
Depth
6.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guayanilla Municipio, 15 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2408 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 37 km (23 mi) from the epicentre. In Indios, 14 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: Tallaboa 16 km, intensity III · Guayanilla 17 km, intensity III · Magas Arriba 17 km, intensity III · Yauco 19 km, intensity II · Tallaboa Alta 23 km, intensity II · Ponce 24 km, intensity II · Adjuntas 34 km, intensity II · San Germán 36 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,000 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 330,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 15,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 10,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 1,000 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 120,000 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 17.8686, -66.7933. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) N earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) WNW earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) NNE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 25 km (15 mi) NE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 25 km (16 mi) NNW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 29 km (18 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. 3.0 13 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.4 8 km SE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.5 7 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  4. 4.2 7 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 Puerto Rico region
  6. 2.9 1 km SSE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.1 12 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.4 5 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.0 5 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.9 7 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.2 5 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.5 4 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.5 7 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.8 10 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.5 9 km SSE of Maria Antonia, 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.