QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Sabana Grande, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Sabana Grande in the 24 hours to 3:20 pm AST (19:20 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 22 km (13 mi) SSE, at 3:45 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Sabana Grande

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded in Sabana Grande, PR, at 2:00 am AST on 12 January 2021 (06:00 UTC), 25 km deep.

USGS: 1 km NNE of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico

36 km (23 mi) WNW of Ponce, PR · 23 km (15 mi) ESE of Mayagüez, PR

2:00 am AST, Jan 12, 2021 · · 25 km deep · released about 17 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Sabana Grande Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sabana Grande Municipio 1 kmSan Germán Municipio 9 kmMaricao Municipio 10 kmYauco Municipio 10 kmLajas Municipio 15 kmLas Marías Municipio 16 kmGuánica Municipio 16 kmHormigueros Municipio 18 kmGuayanilla Municipio 19 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
2:00 am AST on 12 January 2021 ()
Where
in Sabana Grande, PR · earthquakes near Sabana Grande
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
25 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sabana Grande Municipio, 1 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2026 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. 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: Liborio Negron Torres, Lluveras, San Germán, Maricao, Lajas, Palomas.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 17 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 5.8 900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 640,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 57× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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 7,200,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 48 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 37 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 45 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 45 km WNW 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 18.0898, -66.9541. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 1 km (1 mi) SE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) WNW earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) NNE earthquakes near Maricao Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) E earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 15 km (10 mi) SW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Las Marías Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) N earthquakes near Las Marías 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. 1.7 3 km NE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.6 1 km NNE of Lluveras, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.8 8 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.9 6 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.7 6 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.2 5 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 1 km NNE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.8 10 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.5 6 km SW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.7 8 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.7 1 km SE of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.6 6 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.3 2 km SSE of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.0 5 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.2 2 km SE of Magas Arriba, 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.