QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

Earthquake near Tallaboa, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Tallaboa in the 24 hours to 5:29 pm AST (21:29 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 9 km (5 mi) WNW, at 4:39 pm AST on 9 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Tallaboa

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) south-southeast of Tallaboa, PR, at 11:33 pm AST on 30 May 2020 (03:33 UTC), 8.0 km deep.

USGS: 6 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico

9 km (5 mi) SW of Ponce, PR

11:33 pm AST, May 30, 2020 · · 8.0 km deep · released about 720 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Tallaboa Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ponce Municipio 10 kmPeñuelas Municipio 10 kmGuayanilla Municipio 14 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 21 kmYauco Municipio 24 kmGuánica Municipio 26 kmAdjuntas Municipio 28 kmVillalba Municipio 30 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 31 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
11:33 pm AST on 30 May 2020 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) south-southeast of Tallaboa, PR · earthquakes near Tallaboa
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
8.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Ponce Municipio, 10 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2356 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 32 km (20 mi) from the epicentre. In Tallaboa, 7 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 7 km, intensity III · Ponce 10 km, intensity III · Tallaboa Alta 12 km, intensity III · Magas Arriba 12 km, intensity III · Guayanilla 14 km, intensity III · Yauco 20 km, intensity II · Adjuntas 25 km, intensity II · Río Cañas Abajo 25 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 720 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 21,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 15,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.3× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 720 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 170,000 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 17.9446, -66.6818. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ponce Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) NE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) NNW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) WNW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) ENE earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) NW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) W earthquakes near Guánica 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. 2.1 9 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.3 4 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 3 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.8 0 km NE of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.7 9 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.6 5 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.7 3 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.1 3 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.4 3 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 3 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.0 3 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.0 4 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.0 6 km WSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.2 6 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.4 3 km WSW of Fuig, 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.