QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.4md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 9:09 am AST (13:09 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 3.4 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) west of Ponce, PR, at 8:17 am AST on 6 December 2022 (12:17 UTC), 16 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

13 km (8 mi) W of Ponce, PR

8:17 am AST, Dec 6, 2022 · · 16 km deep · released about 2 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Peñuelas Municipio 2 kmGuayanilla Municipio 6 kmYauco Municipio 14 kmPonce Municipio 15 kmAdjuntas Municipio 18 kmGuánica Municipio 20 kmSabana Grande Municipio 22 kmMaricao Municipio 26 kmJayuya Municipio 27 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 am AST on 6 December 2022 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) west of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 3.4 (md)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Measured shaking
intensity II (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Peñuelas Municipio, 2 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1369 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 56 km (35 mi) from the epicentre. In Ponce, 13 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Magas Arriba 2 km, intensity III · Tallaboa 4 km, intensity III · Guayanilla 5 km, intensity III · Tallaboa Alta 6 km, intensity III · Yauco 11 km, intensity III · Ponce 13 km, intensity III · Adjuntas 16 km, intensity III · Jayuya 27 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 2 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 86,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 3,800× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,700× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.4 about 2 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 4.1× more

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 31,000 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 18.0210, -66.7465. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 2 km (1 mi) ENE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) WSW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) WNW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) E earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) N earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 20 km (13 mi) WSW earthquakes near Guánica Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 4 km WSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.3 5 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.3 4 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.0 1 km WNW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.4 5 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.6 15 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.8 6 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.3 11 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.2 4 km ESE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.9 8 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.9 8 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.2 2 km S of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.5 1 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.8 3 km N of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.8 5 km WSW of Guánica, 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.