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 10:12 am AST (14:12 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 5 km (3 mi) north-northeast of Ponce, PR, at 8:39 pm AST on 21 October 2022 (00:39 UTC), 17 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 5 km NNE of Ponce, Puerto Rico

6 km (4 mi) NNE of Ponce, PR

8:39 pm AST, Oct 21, 2022 · · 17 km deep · released about 40 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 13 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 14 kmVillalba Municipio 17 kmJayuya Municipio 17 kmGuayanilla Municipio 21 kmAdjuntas Municipio 21 kmOrocovis Municipio 26 kmUtuado Municipio 26 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
8:39 pm AST on 21 October 2022 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) north-northeast of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Ponce Municipio, 6 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1482 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 4 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Ponce, 5 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: Coto Laurel, Aguilita, Luis Llorens Torres, Capitanejo, Tallaboa Alta, Juana Díaz.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 40 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 5.8 380,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 270,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 24× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 40 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 3,000,000 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 18.0560, -66.6103. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ponce Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) S earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) WSW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) ESE earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 17 km (10 mi) ENE earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Jayuya Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) N earthquakes near Jayuya Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) WSW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.9 7 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.0 4 km ESE of Lajas, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.9 6 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 5 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 1 km WNW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.3 2 km ESE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.5 4 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.8 2 km WSW of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.3 1 km NNE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 3 km NW of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.4 3 km ENE of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.0 Puerto Rico region
  13. 2.1 2 km WSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.6 5 km W of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.0 6 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.