QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

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 1.9 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) west-southwest of Guánica, PR, at 8:04 am AST on 12 January 2021 (12:04 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 5 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico

35 km (22 mi) W of Ponce, PR · 34 km (21 mi) SE of Mayagüez, PR

8:04 am AST, Jan 12, 2021 · · 14 km deep · released about 18 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Guánica Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guánica Municipio 3 kmLajas Municipio 9 kmSabana Grande Municipio 14 kmGuayanilla Municipio 17 kmYauco Municipio 17 kmSan Germán Municipio 19 kmMaricao Municipio 24 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 24 kmPeñuelas Municipio 25 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
8:04 am AST on 12 January 2021 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) west-southwest of Guánica, PR · earthquakes near Guánica
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guánica Municipio, 3 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2025 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 3 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Guánica, 5 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: Fuig, Maria Antonia, Liborio Negron Torres, La Parguera, Lluveras, Palomas.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 18 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 5.8 840,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 53× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 18 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 6,700,000 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 17.9586, -66.9536. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guánica Municipio, PR 3 km (2 mi) ESE earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) N earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) ENE earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) NE earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) NNW earthquakes near San Germán 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. 2.3 1 km E of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.9 4 km W of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.9 5 km W of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.5 12 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.2 7 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.0 1 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.2 4 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.6 0 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.6 7 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.9 3 km ENE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.0 3 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.7 4 km ENE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.8 4 km ENE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.1 9 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.9 4 km E 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.