QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Tallaboa, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Tallaboa in the 24 hours to 10:13 am AST (14:13 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 9 km (5 mi) WNW, at 4:39 pm AST on 9 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Tallaboa

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) south-southeast of Tallaboa, PR, at 9:47 pm AST on 16 April 2023 (01:47 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 6 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico

10 km (6 mi) SW of Ponce, PR

9:47 pm AST, Apr 16, 2023 · · 11 km deep · released about 82 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Tallaboa Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Peñuelas Municipio 10 kmPonce Municipio 12 kmGuayanilla Municipio 13 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 23 kmYauco Municipio 23 kmGuánica Municipio 24 kmAdjuntas Municipio 27 kmSabana Grande Municipio 31 kmVillalba Municipio 32 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
9:47 pm AST on 16 April 2023 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) south-southeast of Tallaboa, PR · earthquakes near Tallaboa
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Peñuelas Municipio, 10 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1305 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 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Tallaboa, 6 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: Tallaboa 6 km, intensity II · Magas Arriba 11 km, intensity II · Ponce 11 km, intensity II · Tallaboa Alta 12 km, intensity II · Guayanilla 13 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 82 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 12× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 82 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 1,500,000 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 17.9408, -66.7007. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) NNW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) NE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) NW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) ENE earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) NW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) W earthquakes near Guánica 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. 2.2 2 km N of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 5 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.7 4 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.8 5 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.8 Puerto Rico region
  6. 3.3 3 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.6 Puerto Rico region
  8. 2.9 Puerto Rico region
  9. 2.4 5 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.8 2 km W of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.7 4 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.1 Puerto Rico region
  13. 3.1 Puerto Rico region
  14. 2.6 6 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.7 4 km SW of Guánica, 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.