QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 4:33 pm AST (20:33 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 2.8 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) southwest of Ponce, PR, at 1:44 am AST on 16 July 2022 (05:44 UTC), 30 km deep.

USGS: 31 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico

48 km (30 mi) SW of Ponce, PR

1:44 am AST, Jul 16, 2022 · · 30 km deep · released about 510 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guánica Municipio 29 kmLajas Municipio 34 kmGuayanilla Municipio 38 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 43 kmPeñuelas Municipio 44 kmSabana Grande Municipio 44 kmYauco Municipio 45 kmSan Germán Municipio 48 kmPonce Municipio 49 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
1:44 am AST on 16 July 2022 ()
Where
49 km (30 mi) southwest of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
30 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guánica Municipio, 29 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1580 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Ponce, 49 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 510 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 30,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 21,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 510 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 230,000 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 17.6880, -66.9375. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guánica Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) N earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 34 km (21 mi) NNW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 38 km (24 mi) NNE earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 43 km (27 mi) NW earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 44 km (27 mi) NNE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 44 km (27 mi) N 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. 2.3 6 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.8 6 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.9 4 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.9 6 km ENE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.0 2 km WSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.4 1 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.6 11 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.0 11 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.7 4 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.6 1 km NNW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 7 km E of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 1 km NNE of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.9 5 km E of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.0 6 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.7 5 km SSW of Palmarejo, 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.