QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Tallaboa, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Tallaboa in the 24 hours to 6:09 pm AST (22:09 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 9 km (5 mi) WNW, at 4:39 pm AST on 9 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Tallaboa

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) south-southwest of Tallaboa, PR, at 6:46 pm AST on 17 May 2022 (22:46 UTC), 6.8 km deep.

USGS: 11 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico

19 km (12 mi) SW of Ponce, PR

6:46 pm AST, May 17, 2022 · · 6.8 km deep · released about 8.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Tallaboa Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guayanilla Municipio 13 kmPeñuelas Municipio 15 kmGuánica Municipio 18 kmPonce Municipio 20 kmYauco Municipio 23 kmSabana Grande Municipio 28 kmLajas Municipio 31 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 31 kmAdjuntas Municipio 32 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
6:46 pm AST on 17 May 2022 ()
Where
12 km (7 mi) south-southwest of Tallaboa, PR · earthquakes near Tallaboa
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
6.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guayanilla Municipio, 13 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1639 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Tallaboa, 12 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, Magas Arriba, Guayanilla, Maria Antonia, Guánica, Palomas.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.4 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 14,000,000 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 17.8975, -66.7635. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) NNW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) NNE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) WNW earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 20 km (13 mi) NE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) NNW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 28 km (18 mi) NW earthquakes near Sabana Grande 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. 2.4 9 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.8 1 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.0 4 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.1 8 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.5 Puerto Rico region
  6. 2.0 3 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 6 km SW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.0 3 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.8 1 km SE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 3 km WSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.9 Puerto Rico region
  12. 2.0 6 km E of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.3 3 km ENE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.1 3 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.7 3 km E of La Parguera, 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.