QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Tallaboa, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Tallaboa in the 24 hours to 3:27 pm AST (19:27 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 1.8 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) west-northwest of Tallaboa, PR, at 12:44 am AST on 23 November 2020 (04:44 UTC), 5.0 km deep.

USGS: 2 km WNW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico

12 km (8 mi) W of Ponce, PR

12:44 am AST, Nov 23, 2020 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 13 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Tallaboa Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Peñuelas Municipio 3 kmGuayanilla Municipio 6 kmPonce Municipio 14 kmYauco Municipio 15 kmAdjuntas Municipio 20 kmGuánica Municipio 20 kmSabana Grande Municipio 24 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 26 kmMaricao Municipio 28 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
12:44 am AST on 23 November 2020 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) west-northwest of Tallaboa, PR · earthquakes near Tallaboa
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Peñuelas Municipio, 3 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2180 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Tallaboa, 3 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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 3 km, intensity II · Magas Arriba 3 km, intensity II · Guayanilla 6 km, intensity II · Tallaboa Alta 7 km, intensity II · Yauco 12 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 13 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 840,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 75× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 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 9,400,000 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 18.0041, -66.7410. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 3 km (2 mi) NNE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) W earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) E earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 15 km (10 mi) NW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) N earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 20 km (13 mi) WSW earthquakes near Guánica 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. 2.6 6 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.8 4 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.6 13 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.0 4 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.5 12 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.5 7 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.2 13 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.6 1 km ESE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.6 2 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.3 12 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.1 14 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.4 3 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.0 6 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.8 13 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.5 13 km S 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.