QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 7:10 am AST (11:10 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 2.5 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) west-southwest of Ponce, PR, at 7:46 pm AST on 11 January 2022 (23:46 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

13 km (8 mi) W of Ponce, PR

7:46 pm AST, Jan 11, 2022 · · 11 km deep · released about 160 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Peñuelas Municipio 5 kmGuayanilla Municipio 7 kmPonce Municipio 14 kmYauco Municipio 17 kmGuánica Municipio 20 kmAdjuntas Municipio 22 kmSabana Grande Municipio 25 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 27 kmMaricao Municipio 30 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
7:46 pm AST on 11 January 2022 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) west-southwest of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Peñuelas Municipio, 5 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1765 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 19 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Ponce, 13 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.

Likely felt in: Tallaboa 3 km, intensity II · Magas Arriba 5 km, intensity II · Guayanilla 7 km, intensity II · Tallaboa Alta 9 km, intensity II · Ponce 13 km, intensity II · Yauco 13 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 160 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 95,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 68,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 160 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 760,000 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 17.9813, -66.7411. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) NNE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) WNW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) E earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) NW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) W earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) N earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 3 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 2 km SSW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.1 1 km ESE of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.7 Puerto Rico region
  5. 2.0 7 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.2 4 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.5 4 km SW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.9 5 km W of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.4 5 km W of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.2 10 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.9 0 km NNE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.9 8 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.6 5 km SW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.1 17 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.5 0 km ENE 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.