QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0md

Earthquake near Indios, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Indios in the 24 hours to 12:20 am AST (04:20 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 5 km (3 mi) E, at 7:05 pm AST on 12 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Indios

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) south of Indios, PR, at 5:01 pm AST on 3 March 2020 (21:01 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 14 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico

24 km (15 mi) SW of Ponce, PR

5:01 pm AST, Mar 3, 2020 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 950 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Indios Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guayanilla Municipio 16 kmGuánica Municipio 16 kmPeñuelas Municipio 20 kmPonce Municipio 25 kmYauco Municipio 26 kmLajas Municipio 29 kmSabana Grande Municipio 29 kmAdjuntas Municipio 36 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 36 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
5:01 pm AST on 3 March 2020 ()
Where
15 km (9 mi) south of Indios, PR · earthquakes near Indios
Magnitude
M 3.0 (md)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Guayanilla Municipio, 16 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2369 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 36 km (22 mi) from the epicentre. In Indios, 15 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 17 km, intensity III · Guayanilla 18 km, intensity II · Magas Arriba 18 km, intensity II · Yauco 20 km, intensity II · Tallaboa Alta 23 km, intensity II · Ponce 25 km, intensity II · Adjuntas 34 km, intensity II · San Germán 36 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 950 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 11,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 950 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 130,000 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 17.8618, -66.7973. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) N earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) NW earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) NNE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 25 km (16 mi) NE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) NNW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lajas 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 1 km ESE of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.9 3 km WSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.1 6 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.6 6 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.2 10 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.5 2 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.6 2 km SSW of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.2 Puerto Rico region
  9. 2.4 2 km NW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 10 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 7 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 16 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.3 11 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.7 2 km E of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.6 10 km SSE of Guánica, 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.