QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8ml

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 1:36 pm AST (17:36 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 2.8 earthquake was recorded 10 km (7 mi) south of Ponce, PR, at 9:03 am AST on 17 January 2020 (13:03 UTC), 6.0 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 10 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico

9 km (6 mi) S of Ponce, PR

9:03 am AST, Jan 17, 2020 · · 6.0 km deep · released about 450 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ponce Municipio 10 kmPeñuelas Municipio 15 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 18 kmGuayanilla Municipio 19 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 27 kmVillalba Municipio 30 kmYauco Municipio 30 kmGuánica Municipio 30 kmAdjuntas Municipio 32 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
9:03 am AST on 17 January 2020 ()
Where
10 km (7 mi) south of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 2.8 (ml)
Depth
6.0 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Ponce Municipio, 10 km NNE
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 26 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Ponce, 10 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: Ponce 10 km, intensity III · Tallaboa 12 km, intensity III · Tallaboa Alta 16 km, intensity II · Magas Arriba 18 km, intensity II · Guayanilla 20 km, intensity II · Río Cañas Abajo 23 km, intensity II · Santa Isabel 25 km, intensity II · Yauco 26 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 450 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 34,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 24,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.1× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 450 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 270,000 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 17.9173, -66.6401. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ponce Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) NNE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 15 km (10 mi) NW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) ENE earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) WNW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) E earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 30 km (18 mi) NE earthquakes near Villalba 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 3 km SE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.1 16 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.0 5 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.1 7 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.9 3 km S of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 5 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 2 km SE of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 2 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.6 6 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.6 10 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.6 8 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.7 6 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.8 3 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.0 4 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.9 3 km SSE 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.