QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.3md

Earthquake near Guayabal, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Guayabal in the 24 hours to 5:37 pm AST (21:37 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 28 km (17 mi) SSE, at 7:09 pm AST on 5 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Guayabal

This page: a magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) east of Guayabal, PR, at 11:09 am AST on 15 September 2024 (15:09 UTC), 20 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3 km E of Guayabal, Puerto Rico

19 km (12 mi) ENE of Ponce, PR

11:09 am AST, Sep 15, 2024 · · 20 km deep · released about 1.3 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Guayabal Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Villalba Municipio 5 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 10 kmCoamo Municipio 11 kmOrocovis Municipio 15 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 17 kmPonce Municipio 18 kmJayuya Municipio 19 kmBarranquitas Municipio 21 kmAibonito Municipio 22 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
11:09 am AST on 15 September 2024 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) east of Guayabal, PR · earthquakes near Guayabal
Magnitude
M 3.3 (md)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity I
Nearest
Villalba Municipio, 5 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 720 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 47 km (29 mi) from the epicentre. In Guayabal, 4 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: Río Cañas Abajo 5 km, intensity III · Coamo 11 km, intensity II · Santa Isabel 15 km, intensity II · Ponce 19 km, intensity II · Jayuya 20 km, intensity II · Tallaboa Alta 25 km, intensity II · Ciales 28 km, intensity II · Adjuntas 29 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 5,800× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,100× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.3 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.7× 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 since 2016 was M 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 46,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 40 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 48 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 18.0873, -66.4643. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Villalba Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) N earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) SSW earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Coamo Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) E earthquakes near Coamo Municipio
Orocovis Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) N earthquakes near Orocovis Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) SSE earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) WSW earthquakes near Ponce Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 2 km N of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 1 km SE of Naranjito, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.0 6 km NE of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.8 2 km NW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.5 2 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.7 3 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 2 km SSE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.5 0 km N of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.4 1 km ENE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 11 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 8 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 4 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 1 km NNE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.1 1 km ENE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.0 7 km SSE 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.