QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Tallaboa, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Tallaboa in the 24 hours to 11:29 am AST (15:29 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 2.8 earthquake was recorded in Tallaboa, PR, at 7:46 am AST on 18 January 2020 (11:46 UTC), 6.0 km deep.

USGS: 1 km ESE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico

8 km (5 mi) W of Ponce, PR

7:46 am AST, Jan 18, 2020 · · 6.0 km deep · released about 420 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Tallaboa Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Peñuelas Municipio 5 kmPonce Municipio 10 kmGuayanilla Municipio 10 kmYauco Municipio 20 kmAdjuntas Municipio 22 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 22 kmGuánica Municipio 24 kmJayuya Municipio 27 kmSabana Grande 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
7:46 am AST on 18 January 2020 ()
Where
in Tallaboa, PR · earthquakes near Tallaboa
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
6.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Peñuelas Municipio, 5 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 25 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. 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 in town, intensity III · Tallaboa Alta 7 km, intensity III · Magas Arriba 8 km, intensity III · Ponce 8 km, intensity III · Guayanilla 10 km, intensity III · Yauco 16 km, intensity II · Adjuntas 19 km, intensity II · Río Cañas Abajo 25 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 420 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 36,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 26,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.3× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 420 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 290,000 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 17.9921, -66.7018. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) NW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) E earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) W earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) WNW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) NNW earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 22 km (14 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. 2.9 3 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.7 5 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.5 6 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.6 7 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.6 5 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.6 5 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.7 6 km SW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.7 12 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.1 7 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.2 0 km NNE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.2 4 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 9 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.6 3 km SW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  14. 4.1 Puerto Rico region
  15. 2.6 7 km ESE of La Parguera, 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.