QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Earthquake near Vázquez, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Vázquez in the 24 hours to 5:37 pm AST (21:37 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 30 km (19 mi) SW, at 7:09 pm AST on 5 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Vázquez

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 2 km (1 mi) east of Vázquez, PR, at 8:17 pm AST on 12 January 2021 (00:17 UTC), 20 km deep.

USGS: 2 km E of Vázquez, Puerto Rico

41 km (26 mi) SSW of San Juan, PR · 27 km (17 mi) SW of Caguas, PR

8:17 pm AST, Jan 12, 2021 · · 20 km deep · released about 32 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Vázquez Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cayey Municipio 8 kmAibonito Municipio 9 kmSalinas Municipio 11 kmGuayama Municipio 13 kmCidra Municipio 14 kmCoamo Municipio 15 kmBarranquitas Municipio 18 kmComerío Municipio 18 kmArroyo Municipio 21 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
8:17 pm AST on 12 January 2021 ()
Where
2 km (1 mi) east of Vázquez, PR · earthquakes near Vázquez
Magnitude
M 2.0 (md)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cayey Municipio, 8 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2023 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 Vázquez, 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: La Plena, Pastos, Coco, Cayey, Aibonito, Parcelas Nuevas.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 32 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 470,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 330,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 30× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 32 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 4.6 on 2016-12-05 — about 7,400 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 24 km NNE 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 18.0638, -66.2193. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cayey Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) ENE earthquakes near Cayey Municipio
Aibonito Municipio, PR 9 km (5 mi) NNW earthquakes near Aibonito Municipio
Salinas Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) SSW earthquakes near Salinas Municipio
Guayama Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) SE earthquakes near Guayama Municipio
Cidra Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) NNE earthquakes near Cidra Municipio
Coamo Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) WNW earthquakes near Coamo Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 7 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.0 5 km E of Orocovis, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.3 1 km WSW of Coto Laurel, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.3 8 km SSW of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.5 9 km SSW of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.2 4 km SE of Cataño, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 3 km WSW of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 10 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.8 11 km SW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.1 3 km SSE of Ponce, 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.