QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.2md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 6:17 pm AST (22:17 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 3.2 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) southwest of Ponce, PR, at 11:58 am AST on 18 April 2020 (15:58 UTC), 7.0 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

12 km (7 mi) SW of Ponce, PR

11:58 am AST, Apr 18, 2020 · · 7.0 km deep · released about 1,900 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Peñuelas Municipio 10 kmGuayanilla Municipio 12 kmPonce Municipio 13 kmGuánica Municipio 22 kmYauco Municipio 22 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 25 kmAdjuntas Municipio 27 kmSabana Grande Municipio 30 kmJayuya Municipio 33 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
11:58 am AST on 18 April 2020 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) southwest of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 3.2 (md)
Depth
7.0 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Peñuelas Municipio, 10 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2316 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 Ponce, 13 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 6 km, intensity III · Magas Arriba 11 km, intensity III · Guayanilla 12 km, intensity III · Ponce 13 km, intensity III · Tallaboa Alta 13 km, intensity III · Yauco 18 km, intensity III · Adjuntas 25 km, intensity II · Río Cañas Abajo 28 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,900 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 7,900× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,600× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,900 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2× 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 in our catalogue was M 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 63,000 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 17.9380, -66.7146. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) N earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) NW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) ENE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) W earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) NW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 25 km (15 mi) ENE earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.9 2 km NW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.9 2 km S of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.1 2 km ENE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.0 5 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.6 2 km E of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.1 3 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 9 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.8 Puerto Rico region
  9. 1.9 6 km E of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.7 6 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.7 7 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 1 km WSW of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.9 4 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 10 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.6 5 km SSW 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.