QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 4:14 pm AST (20:14 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 2.7 earthquake was recorded 32 km (20 mi) southwest of Ponce, PR, at 10:34 pm AST on 19 January 2020 (02:34 UTC), 8.0 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

32 km (20 mi) SW of Ponce, PR

10:34 pm AST, Jan 19, 2020 · · 8.0 km deep · released about 330 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guánica Municipio 18 kmGuayanilla Municipio 23 kmPeñuelas Municipio 27 kmLajas Municipio 29 kmYauco Municipio 31 kmPonce Municipio 33 kmSabana Grande Municipio 33 kmSan Germán Municipio 40 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 42 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
10:34 pm AST on 19 January 2020 ()
Where
32 km (20 mi) southwest of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 2.7 (md)
Depth
8.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guánica Municipio, 18 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2483 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 23 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Ponce, 32 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Guánica, Maria Antonia, Indios, Fuig, Palomas, Guayanilla.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 330 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 46,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 33,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 330 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 in our catalogue was M 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 370,000 times the energy of this one.

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 17.8043, -66.8403. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guánica Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) NNW earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) N earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) NNE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) NW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) N earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 33 km (21 mi) NE earthquakes near Ponce 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. 2.1 1 km W of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.3 8 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.3 7 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.7 5 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.6 6 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.3 13 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.7 5 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.6 Puerto Rico region
  9. 2.0 3 km WSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 2 km SE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.8 2 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.9 2 km WNW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.3 0 km WSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.8 8 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.8 7 km SSW 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.