QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Palomas, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Palomas in the last 24 hours. M 2.1, 3 km (2 mi) SE of Palomas, at 4:14 pm AST on 11 November 2026 (20:14 UTC); the estimated shaking in Palomas was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Palomas

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded in Palomas, PR, at 4:06 am AST on 22 January 2023 (08:06 UTC), 10 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 1 km W of Palomas, Puerto Rico

28 km (18 mi) W of Ponce, PR

4:06 am AST, Jan 22, 2023 · · 10 km deep · released about 190 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Palomas Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guánica Municipio 8 kmYauco Municipio 9 kmSabana Grande Municipio 10 kmGuayanilla Municipio 10 kmLajas Municipio 16 kmPeñuelas Municipio 17 kmMaricao Municipio 18 kmSan Germán Municipio 19 kmAdjuntas Municipio 23 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
4:06 am AST on 22 January 2023 ()
Where
in Palomas, PR · earthquakes near Palomas
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity I
Nearest
Guánica Municipio, 8 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1028 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 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. 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 5 km, intensity II · Guayanilla 11 km, intensity II · Magas Arriba 13 km, intensity II · San Germán 18 km, intensity II · Tallaboa 19 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 190 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 80,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 57,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.1× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 190 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 640,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 47 km NNW of this epicentre

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 18.0150, -66.8920. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guánica Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) SSW earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 9 km (5 mi) NNE earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) NW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) E earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) WSW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) E 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. 2.7 2 km SSE of Boquerón, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 Puerto Rico region
  3. 2.2 6 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.6 0 km S of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.6 7 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.2 2 km ESE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 Puerto Rico region
  8. 2.2 2 km SE of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.9 Puerto Rico region
  10. 2.6 5 km ESE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.1 2 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.7 Puerto Rico region
  13. 2.5 1 km SSW of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.3 2 km WSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.3 0 km NNE 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.