QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 12:45 pm AST (16:45 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 3.0 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) west-northwest of Ponce, PR, at 9:54 pm AST on 4 February 2023 (01:54 UTC), 5.7 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

20 km (12 mi) WNW of Ponce, PR

9:54 pm AST, Feb 4, 2023 · · 5.7 km deep · released about 860 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Yauco Municipio 7 kmGuayanilla Municipio 9 kmPeñuelas Municipio 9 kmAdjuntas Municipio 11 kmSabana Grande Municipio 17 kmMaricao Municipio 18 kmGuánica Municipio 21 kmPonce Municipio 21 kmUtuado 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
9:54 pm AST on 4 February 2023 ()
Where
19 km (12 mi) west-northwest of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 3.0 (md)
Depth
5.7 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Yauco Municipio, 7 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1375 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 35 km (22 mi) from the epicentre. In Ponce, 19 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.

Likely felt in: Guayanilla 7 km, intensity III · Magas Arriba 8 km, intensity III · Yauco 9 km, intensity III · Tallaboa Alta 10 km, intensity III · Adjuntas 11 km, intensity III · Tallaboa 13 km, intensity III · Ponce 19 km, intensity II · Lares 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 860 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 390,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 18,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 12,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 860 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 in our catalogue was M 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 140,000 times the energy of this one.

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 18.0853, -66.7880. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Yauco Municipio, PR 7 km (5 mi) W earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) S earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) SE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) NNE earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 17 km (10 mi) W earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) WNW earthquakes near Maricao Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 Puerto Rico region
  2. 3.1 2 km WSW of Las Marias, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 3 km ENE of Lluveras, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 5 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.5 1 km SE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.4 1 km N of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.5 4 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.0 1 km ESE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.5 Puerto Rico region
  10. 2.4 2 km S of Gu?nica, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.9 2 km NNE of San Germán, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.1 3 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.0 3 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.1 3 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.2 Puerto Rico region

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.