QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

Earthquake near Guánica, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Guánica in the last 24 hours. M 2.1, 7 km (4 mi) ENE of Guánica, at 4:14 pm AST on 11 November 2026 (20:14 UTC); the estimated shaking in Guánica was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Guánica

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) south of Guánica, PR, at 12:05 am AST on 18 January 2023 (04:05 UTC), 14 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico

30 km (19 mi) WSW of Ponce, PR

12:05 am AST, Jan 18, 2023 · · 14 km deep · released about 570 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Guánica Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guánica Municipio 2 kmGuayanilla Municipio 14 kmLajas Municipio 15 kmSabana Grande Municipio 17 kmYauco Municipio 17 kmPeñuelas Municipio 21 kmSan Germán Municipio 24 kmMaricao Municipio 27 kmCabo Rojo 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
12:05 am AST on 18 January 2023 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) south of Guánica, PR · earthquakes near Guánica
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Guánica Municipio, 2 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1394 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 26 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Guánica, 4 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.

Likely felt in: Yauco 12 km, intensity II · Guayanilla 15 km, intensity II · Magas Arriba 17 km, intensity II · Tallaboa 21 km, intensity II · San Germán 22 km, intensity II · Tallaboa Alta 25 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 570 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 27,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 19,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 570 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 210,000 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 17.9367, -66.9040. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guánica Municipio, PR 2 km (1 mi) WNW earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 14 km (8 mi) NE earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) NNW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) NNE earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) ENE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 4 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 3 km E of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.2 6 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.8 Puerto Rico region
  5. 3.0 4 km NNE of San Germán, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.9 4 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.7 0 km S of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.0 Mona Passage
  9. 2.3 Puerto Rico region
  10. 2.3 2 km W of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.2 1 km ESE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.1 1 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.3 3 km NW of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.0 2 km SSW of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.9 8 km SSE of Maria Antonia, 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.