QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 8:56 am AST (12:56 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 2.1 earthquake was recorded 21 km (13 mi) west-southwest of Ponce, PR, at 10:45 am AST on 11 February 2022 (14:45 UTC), 19 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

21 km (13 mi) WSW of Ponce, PR

10:45 am AST, Feb 11, 2022 · · 19 km deep · released about 46 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guayanilla Municipio 8 kmGuánica Municipio 12 kmPeñuelas Municipio 13 kmYauco Municipio 17 kmSabana Grande Municipio 22 kmPonce Municipio 22 kmLajas Municipio 25 kmAdjuntas Municipio 28 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
10:45 am AST on 11 February 2022 ()
Where
21 km (13 mi) west-southwest of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
19 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guayanilla Municipio, 8 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1735 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, 21 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, Maria Antonia, Magas Arriba, Palomas, Guánica.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 46 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 330,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 21× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 46 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 2,600,000 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 17.9365, -66.8072. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) N earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) W earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) NE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) NNW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) NW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) ENE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 6 km W of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.2 2 km NNW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.1 3 km SW of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.9 5 km E of Lajas, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.9 5 km E of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.0 3 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.8 2 km W of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.7 0 km NE of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.8 2 km W of Indios, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.9 2 km ENE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.5 3 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.1 2 km ENE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.7 4 km SW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.9 7 km SSE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.1 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.