QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Yauco, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Yauco in the last 24 hours. M 2.4, 13 km (8 mi) SW of Yauco, at 3:43 pm AST on 11 November 2026 (19:43 UTC); the estimated shaking in Yauco was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Yauco

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 2 km (1 mi) south-southeast of Yauco, PR, at 11:22 pm AST on 7 January 2021 (03:22 UTC), 17 km deep.

USGS: 2 km SSE of Yauco, Puerto Rico

23 km (15 mi) W of Ponce, PR

11:22 pm AST, Jan 7, 2021 · · 17 km deep · released about 24 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Yauco Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guayanilla Municipio 5 kmYauco Municipio 8 kmGuánica Municipio 11 kmPeñuelas Municipio 12 kmSabana Grande Municipio 13 kmMaricao Municipio 20 kmAdjuntas Municipio 21 kmLajas Municipio 21 kmSan Germán 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
11:22 pm AST on 7 January 2021 ()
Where
2 km (1 mi) south-southeast of Yauco, PR · earthquakes near Yauco
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guayanilla Municipio, 5 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2134 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, 2 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: Palomas, Indios, Guayanilla, Maria Antonia, Lluveras, Magas Arriba.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 24 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 640,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 450,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 40× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 24 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 5,100,000 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 49 km NNW of this epicentre

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 18.0151, -66.8453. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) ESE earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) N earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) SW earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) E earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) NW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 20 km (12 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. 2.1 5 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.6 6 km SSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.0 5 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.2 6 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.7 3 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.9 5 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.1 4 km NE of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.0 1 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.6 1 km ESE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.8 7 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.7 1 km NNE of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.7 4 km ESE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.6 4 km NE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.9 1 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.6 5 km ESE of La Parguera, 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.