QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1md

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 3.1 earthquake was recorded 7 km (5 mi) southeast of Ponce, PR, at 8:57 pm AST on 27 July 2020 (00:57 UTC), 6.0 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 7 km SE of Ponce, Puerto Rico

6 km (4 mi) SE of Ponce, PR

8:57 pm AST, Jul 27, 2020 · · 6.0 km deep · released about 1,200 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ponce Municipio 6 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 11 kmPeñuelas Municipio 17 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 21 kmVillalba Municipio 23 kmGuayanilla Municipio 23 kmJayuya Municipio 28 kmCoamo Municipio 29 kmAdjuntas 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
8:57 pm AST on 27 July 2020 ()
Where
7 km (5 mi) southeast of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 3.1 (md)
Depth
6.0 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Ponce Municipio, 6 km NNW
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 39 km (24 mi) from the epicentre. In Ponce, 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: Ponce 7 km, intensity III · Tallaboa 15 km, intensity III · Río Cañas Abajo 15 km, intensity III · Tallaboa Alta 16 km, intensity III · Santa Isabel 19 km, intensity II · Magas Arriba 21 km, intensity II · Guayanilla 23 km, intensity II · Adjuntas 27 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,200 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 290,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 13,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 9,100× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,200 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.2× 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 since 2016 was M 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 100,000 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 17.9553, -66.5851. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ponce Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) NNW earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) ENE earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) WNW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) E earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) NNE earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) WNW earthquakes near Guayanilla 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. 2.6 6 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 3 km SSE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.5 2 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.7 2 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 8 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 3 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.1 Puerto Rico region
  8. 2.7 3 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.9 6 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.8 3 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.8 3 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 3 km SSE of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.5 6 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.4 5 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.1 3 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.