QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Indios, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Indios in the 24 hours to 11:24 am AST (15:24 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 3 km (2 mi) SW, at 4:21 am AST on 10 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Indios

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) south-southeast of Indios, PR, at 9:35 pm AST on 17 January 2020 (01:35 UTC), 6.0 km deep.

USGS: 8 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico

19 km (12 mi) WSW of Ponce, PR

9:35 pm AST, Jan 17, 2020 · · 6.0 km deep · released about 510 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Indios Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guayanilla Municipio 9 kmPeñuelas Municipio 13 kmGuánica Municipio 15 kmYauco Municipio 19 kmPonce Municipio 20 kmSabana Grande Municipio 25 kmLajas Municipio 28 kmAdjuntas Municipio 28 kmMaricao 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
9:35 pm AST on 17 January 2020 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) south-southeast of Indios, PR · earthquakes near Indios
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
6.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guayanilla Municipio, 9 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2485 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 28 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. In Indios, 8 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: Magas Arriba 10 km, intensity III · Guayanilla 10 km, intensity III · Tallaboa 10 km, intensity III · Yauco 14 km, intensity III · Tallaboa Alta 16 km, intensity II · Ponce 19 km, intensity II · Adjuntas 27 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 510 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 30,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 21,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 510 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 230,000 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 17.9268, -66.7831. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) N earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) NNE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) W earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) NNW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 20 km (13 mi) ENE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 25 km (15 mi) NW earthquakes near Sabana Grande 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. 2.5 11 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.1 1 km NW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.9 3 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.5 8 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.1 16 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.1 11 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.2 3 km SSE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.5 2 km E of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.1 2 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.7 2 km W of Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.6 7 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.0 10 km SE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.7 1 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.4 7 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.2 6 km SE 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.