QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.7md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 6:53 pm AST (22:53 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 3.7 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) south-southeast of Ponce, PR, at 9:58 pm AST on 28 May 2020 (01:58 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 56 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 11 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico

10 km (6 mi) SSE of Ponce, PR

9:58 pm AST, May 28, 2020 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 5.2 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ponce Municipio 10 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 15 kmPeñuelas Municipio 19 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 22 kmGuayanilla Municipio 24 kmVillalba Municipio 28 kmCoamo Municipio 33 kmJayuya Municipio 33 kmYauco Municipio 34 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
9:58 pm AST on 28 May 2020 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) south-southeast of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 3.7 (md)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
56 reports · strongest reported intensity V
Measured shaking
intensity IV (ShakeMap)
USGS impact alert
green
Nearest
Ponce Municipio, 10 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2279 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 75 km (47 mi) from the epicentre. In Ponce, 11 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: Ponce 11 km, intensity III · Tallaboa 16 km, intensity III · Tallaboa Alta 19 km, intensity III · Río Cañas Abajo 19 km, intensity III · Santa Isabel 21 km, intensity III · Magas Arriba 22 km, intensity III · Guayanilla 24 km, intensity III · Yauco 30 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.2 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 33,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.7 about 5.2 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 11× 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 12,000 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 17.9121, -66.5941. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ponce Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) N earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) NE earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) NW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) ENE earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) WNW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 28 km (17 mi) NNE earthquakes near Villalba 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. 3.5 7 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.7 16 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.2 7 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.9 9 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.6 8 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 5 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.8 2 km S of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.6 12 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.5 3 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 9 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.6 8 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  12. 4.2 13 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.6 Puerto Rico region
  14. 2.4 2 km WSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.8 6 km SE of Ponce, 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.