QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.5md

Earthquake near Guánica, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Guánica in the last 24 hours. M 2.1, 7 km (4 mi) ENE of Guánica, at 4:14 pm AST on 11 November 2026 (20:14 UTC); the estimated shaking in Guánica was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Guánica

This page: a magnitude 3.5 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) south of Guánica, PR, at 3:56 pm AST on 26 November 2020 (19:56 UTC), 12 km deep. 8 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 14 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico

35 km (22 mi) WSW of Ponce, PR

3:56 pm AST, Nov 26, 2020 · · 12 km deep · released about 3.2 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Guánica Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guánica Municipio 13 kmLajas Municipio 21 kmGuayanilla Municipio 22 kmSabana Grande Municipio 28 kmYauco Municipio 28 kmPeñuelas Municipio 29 kmSan Germán Municipio 33 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 34 kmPonce Municipio 37 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
3:56 pm AST on 26 November 2020 ()
Where
15 km (9 mi) south of Guánica, PR · earthquakes near Guánica
Magnitude
M 3.5 (md)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
8 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Measured shaking
intensity II (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Guánica Municipio, 13 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2104 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 65 km (40 mi) from the epicentre. In Guánica, 15 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 23 km, intensity III · Guayanilla 24 km, intensity III · Magas Arriba 25 km, intensity III · Tallaboa 27 km, intensity II · San Germán 31 km, intensity II · Tallaboa Alta 33 km, intensity II · Pole Ojea 33 km, intensity II · Ponce 36 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 3.2 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 53,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,400× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.5 about 3.2 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 6.7× 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 19,000 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 17.8365, -66.9096. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guánica Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) N earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) NW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) NNE earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 28 km (17 mi) N earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 28 km (18 mi) N earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) NE earthquakes near Peñuelas 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 WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.3 4 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.6 6 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.3 6 km S of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.1 0 km NW of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.1 6 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.0 3 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.9 1 km NNE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.3 1 km ENE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.2 1 km SE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.6 5 km NE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.2 21 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 6 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.8 5 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.5 6 km WSW 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.