QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6md

Earthquake near Tallaboa, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Tallaboa in the 24 hours to 10:53 am AST (14:53 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 2.6 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) south-southeast of Tallaboa, PR, at 10:20 pm AST on 16 January 2020 (02:20 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: 4 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico

10 km (6 mi) WSW of Ponce, PR

10:20 pm AST, Jan 16, 2020 · · 10 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Tallaboa Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Peñuelas Municipio 8 kmGuayanilla Municipio 11 kmPonce Municipio 12 kmYauco Municipio 21 kmGuánica Municipio 23 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 23 kmAdjuntas Municipio 25 kmSabana Grande Municipio 29 kmJayuya Municipio 31 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
10:20 pm AST on 16 January 2020 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) south-southeast of Tallaboa, PR · earthquakes near Tallaboa
Magnitude
M 2.6 (md)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Peñuelas Municipio, 8 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2486 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 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Tallaboa, 4 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 4 km, intensity III · Magas Arriba 9 km, intensity II · Tallaboa Alta 10 km, intensity II · Ponce 11 km, intensity II · Guayanilla 11 km, intensity II · Yauco 17 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 500,000 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 17.9596, -66.7081. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) NNW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) WNW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) ENE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) NW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) W earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 23 km (15 mi) E earthquakes near Juana Díaz 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 11 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 3 km ESE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.0 4 km S of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.0 8 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 10 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.7 3 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 15 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.5 3 km ENE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.3 1 km E of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.0 12 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 2 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.8 10 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.9 1 km ENE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.8 20 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.1 8 km SE of Indios, 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.