QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.8md

Earthquake near Yauco, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Yauco in the last 24 hours. M 2.1, 5 km (3 mi) S of Yauco, at 4:14 pm AST on 11 November 2026 (20:14 UTC); the estimated shaking in Yauco was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Yauco

This page: a magnitude 3.8 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) southeast of Yauco, PR, at 5:10 pm AST on 23 July 2020 (21:10 UTC), 12 km deep. 45 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 2 km SE of Yauco, Puerto Rico

22 km (14 mi) W of Ponce, PR

5:10 pm AST, Jul 23, 2020 · · 12 km deep · released about 6.4 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Yauco Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guayanilla Municipio 4 kmYauco Municipio 8 kmPeñuelas Municipio 11 kmGuánica Municipio 12 kmSabana Grande Municipio 14 kmAdjuntas Municipio 20 kmMaricao Municipio 21 kmLajas Municipio 22 kmSan Germán Municipio 24 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
5:10 pm AST on 23 July 2020 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) southeast of Yauco, PR · earthquakes near Yauco
Magnitude
M 3.8 (md)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
45 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Guayanilla Municipio, 4 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2230 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 78 km (48 mi) from the epicentre. In Yauco, 3 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: Yauco 3 km, intensity III · Guayanilla 4 km, intensity III · Magas Arriba 7 km, intensity III · Tallaboa 13 km, intensity III · Tallaboa Alta 14 km, intensity III · Adjuntas 20 km, intensity III · Ponce 22 km, intensity III · San Germán 24 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.4 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 27,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,200× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 840× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.8 about 6.4 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 13× 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 9,400 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 49 km NNW of this epicentre

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 18.0176, -66.8325. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 4 km (2 mi) ESE earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) NNW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) E earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) SW earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) WNW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) NNE earthquakes near Adjuntas 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. 2.9 6 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.0 6 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.5 3 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.0 4 km WSW of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.5 0 km NNE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.7 0 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.5 7 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.3 2 km W of Indios, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.7 4 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 5 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.7 5 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.6 11 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.5 2 km S of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 5 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.6 4 km SE of Lajas, 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.