QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Yauco, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Yauco in the last 24 hours. M 2.3, 9 km (6 mi) ESE of Yauco, at 7:05 pm AST on 12 November 2026 (23:05 UTC); the estimated shaking in Yauco was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Yauco

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) west of Yauco, PR, at 9:49 pm AST on 1 January 2021 (01:49 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

30 km (19 mi) W of Ponce, PR

9:49 pm AST, Jan 1, 2021 · · 14 km deep · released about 13 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Yauco Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sabana Grande Municipio 8 kmYauco Municipio 8 kmGuánica Municipio 9 kmGuayanilla Municipio 11 kmLajas Municipio 16 kmMaricao Municipio 16 kmSan Germán Municipio 17 kmPeñuelas Municipio 19 kmAdjuntas Municipio 23 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
9:49 pm AST on 1 January 2021 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) west of Yauco, PR · earthquakes near Yauco
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sabana Grande Municipio, 8 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2108 days ago

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

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Yauco, 6 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Lluveras, Palomas, Liborio Negron Torres, Fuig, Maria Antonia, Guánica.

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 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 810,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 72× 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 in our catalogue was M 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 9,100,000 times the energy of this one.

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 18.0293, -66.9036. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) NW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) NE earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) SSW earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) ESE earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) WSW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) NNW earthquakes near Maricao 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. 2.7 2 km WSW of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.0 5 km SW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.4 7 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.1 3 km E of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.8 4 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.2 3 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 4 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.3 5 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.8 Puerto Rico region
  10. 1.9 0 km ESE of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.9 1 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.0 13 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.7 5 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.2 2 km ENE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.9 6 km SE of Maria Antonia, 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.