QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

Earthquake near Magas Arriba, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Magas Arriba in the last 24 hours. M 2.1, 9 km (5 mi) WSW of Magas Arriba, at 4:14 pm AST on 11 November 2026 (20:14 UTC); the estimated shaking in Magas Arriba was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Magas Arriba

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) south of Magas Arriba, PR, at 12:11 am AST on 18 January 2020 (04:11 UTC), 6.0 km deep.

USGS: 3 km S of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico

16 km (10 mi) W of Ponce, PR

12:11 am AST, Jan 18, 2020 · · 6.0 km deep · released about 680 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Magas Arriba Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guayanilla Municipio 4 kmPeñuelas Municipio 7 kmYauco Municipio 15 kmGuánica Municipio 16 kmPonce Municipio 18 kmSabana Grande Municipio 22 kmAdjuntas Municipio 22 kmMaricao Municipio 27 kmLajas Municipio 28 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
12:11 am AST on 18 January 2020 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) south of Magas Arriba, PR · earthquakes near Magas Arriba
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
6.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guayanilla Municipio, 4 km NW
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 31 km (19 mi) from the epicentre. In Magas Arriba, 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: Magas Arriba 4 km, intensity III · Guayanilla 5 km, intensity III · Tallaboa 6 km, intensity III · Yauco 10 km, intensity III · Tallaboa Alta 11 km, intensity III · Ponce 16 km, intensity II · Adjuntas 21 km, intensity II · San Germán 31 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 680 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 680 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 180,000 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 17.9826, -66.7716. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 4 km (2 mi) NW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) NE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) NW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) WSW earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) E earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) WNW 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. 2.2 2 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 17 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.2 9 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.1 11 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.0 9 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.6 14 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.6 12 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.6 24 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.5 9 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.0 0 km ENE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.2 0 km NE of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.9 10 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.5 3 km NNW of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 11 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.1 1 km NW 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.