QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.2md

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 3.2 earthquake was recorded 15 km (10 mi) south of Indios, PR, at 11:09 pm AST on 3 March 2020 (03:09 UTC), 6.0 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 15 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico

26 km (16 mi) SW of Ponce, PR

11:09 pm AST, Mar 3, 2020 · · 6.0 km deep · released about 1,800 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guánica Municipio 15 kmGuayanilla Municipio 17 kmPeñuelas Municipio 21 kmYauco Municipio 26 kmPonce Municipio 27 kmLajas Municipio 28 kmSabana Grande Municipio 29 kmSan Germán Municipio 37 kmAdjuntas Municipio 37 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
11:09 pm AST on 3 March 2020 ()
Where
15 km (10 mi) south of Indios, PR · earthquakes near Indios
Magnitude
M 3.2 (md)
Depth
6.0 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Guánica Municipio, 15 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2445 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 46 km (29 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: Guayanilla 18 km, intensity III · Magas Arriba 19 km, intensity III · Tallaboa 19 km, intensity III · Yauco 20 km, intensity II · Tallaboa Alta 25 km, intensity II · Ponce 26 km, intensity II · San Germán 35 km, intensity II · Adjuntas 35 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,800 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 8,200× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,800× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,800 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.9× more

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 65,000 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 17.8563, -66.8141. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guánica Municipio, PR 15 km (10 mi) NW earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 17 km (10 mi) N earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) NNE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) N earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) NE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 28 km (17 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 5 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.0 3 km SW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.1 2 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.4 8 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 10 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.2 8 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.7 6 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.1 8 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.4 8 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.6 1 km ESE of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.9 3 km WSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.1 6 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.6 6 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.2 10 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.5 2 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.