QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 3:40 am AST (07:40 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 26 km (16 mi) WSW, at 3:45 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Ponce

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) west-southwest of Ponce, PR, at 4:02 pm AST on 12 February 2021 (20:02 UTC), 17 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

17 km (11 mi) WSW of Ponce, PR

4:02 pm AST, Feb 12, 2021 · · 17 km deep · released about 13 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guayanilla Municipio 4 kmPeñuelas Municipio 9 kmGuánica Municipio 15 kmYauco Municipio 15 kmPonce Municipio 19 kmSabana Grande Municipio 21 kmAdjuntas Municipio 24 kmLajas Municipio 27 kmMaricao Municipio 28 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
4:02 pm AST on 12 February 2021 ()
Where
18 km (11 mi) west-southwest of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guayanilla Municipio, 4 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2098 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 Ponce, 18 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: Indios, Guayanilla, Magas Arriba, Tallaboa, Yauco, Palomas.

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 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 840,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 75× 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 9,400,000 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 17.9681, -66.7856. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 4 km (3 mi) NNW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) NE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) W earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) NNW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) E earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) NW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 6 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.6 2 km W of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.7 5 km W of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.6 2 km W of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.5 4 km ESE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.6 19 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.7 6 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 5 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.9 7 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.8 4 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.8 6 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.0 3 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.8 6 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.1 6 km E of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.5 7 km E 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.