Earthquake near Potala Pastillo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Potala Pastillo in the 24 hours to 6:33 am AST (10:33 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 6 km (4 mi) NW, at 10:09 am AST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Potala Pastillo

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded in Potala Pastillo, PR, at 2:35 pm AST on 15 December 2020 (18:35 UTC), 6.0 km deep.

USGS: 0 km E of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico

14 km (9 mi) E of Ponce, PR

2:35 pm AST, Dec 15, 2020 · 2020-12-15 18:35 UTC · 6.0 km deep · released about 33 lb of TNT

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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: 2:35 pm AST on 15 December 2020 (2020-12-15 18:35 UTC)
Where: in Potala Pastillo, PR · earthquakes near Potala Pastillo
Magnitude: M 2.0 (md)
Depth: 6.0 km below the surface
Felt: no reports yet
Nearest: Juana Díaz Municipio, 1 km N
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 2159 days ago · we first saw it 2159 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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Río Cañas Abajo 6 km, intensity II · Santa Isabel 9 km, intensity II · Ponce 14 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 33 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 450,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 320,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 29× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 2.0 about 33 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 3,600,000 times the energy of this one.

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

5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 48 km NE of this epicentre Dec 24, 2010

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

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR	1 km (0 mi)	N	earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR	12 km (7 mi)	ESE	earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR	12 km (8 mi)	W	earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR	16 km (10 mi)	N	earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Coamo Municipio, PR	19 km (12 mi)	NE	earthquakes near Coamo Municipio
Salinas Municipio, PR	24 km (15 mi)	E	earthquakes near Salinas Municipio

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

47 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

2.2 10 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico 15:43 UTC
2.3 3 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico 12:48 UTC
2.2 5 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico 10:25 UTC
1.8 0 km NE of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico 08:47 UTC
1.8 4 km W of Fuig, Puerto Rico 06:42 UTC
2.1 1 km N of Indios, Puerto Rico 00:22 UTC
2.4 Puerto Rico region 23:44 UTC
2.3 12 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico 20:35 UTC
2.0 2 km ESE of Palomas, Puerto Rico 18:35 UTC
2.5 9 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico 17:31 UTC
2.2 7 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico 17:04 UTC
2.5 7 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico 16:40 UTC
2.6 5 km SW of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico 15:20 UTC
2.4 8 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico 12:48 UTC
2.1 7 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico 12:26 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 10:33 UTC. QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.