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 2:30 am AST (06:30 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 4 km (3 mi) west of Ponce, PR, at 1:46 pm AST on 7 February 2022 (17:46 UTC), 16 km deep.

USGS: 4 km W of Ponce, Puerto Rico

in Ponce, PR

1:46 pm AST, Feb 7, 2022 · · 16 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 Ponce Municipio 6 kmPeñuelas Municipio 7 kmGuayanilla Municipio 14 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 18 kmAdjuntas Municipio 22 kmYauco Municipio 22 kmJayuya Municipio 24 kmVillalba Municipio 25 kmGuánica 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
1:46 pm AST on 7 February 2022 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) west of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Ponce Municipio, 6 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1738 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, 4 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: Tallaboa, Tallaboa Alta, Peñuelas, Magas Arriba, Santo Domingo, Coto Laurel.

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 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 810,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 72× 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 since 2016 was M 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 9,100,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 18.0077, -66.6645. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ponce Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) E earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) WNW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) W earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) E earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) NNW earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) WNW earthquakes near Yauco 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. 2.1 2 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.6 9 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.5 6 km WSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 2 km WSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.2 6 km WSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.4 14 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 2 km ESE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.3 2 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.8 5 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 5 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 7 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 9 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.9 5 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.2 1 km NW of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.5 0 km W 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.