QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0md

Earthquake near Tallaboa, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Tallaboa in the 24 hours to 3:48 pm AST (19:48 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 3.0 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Tallaboa, PR, at 7:58 pm AST on 5 May 2023 (23:58 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 2 km NNW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico

11 km (7 mi) W of Ponce, PR

7:58 pm AST, May 5, 2023 · · 14 km deep · released about 800 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Tallaboa Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Peñuelas Municipio 1 kmGuayanilla Municipio 7 kmPonce Municipio 13 kmYauco Municipio 16 kmAdjuntas Municipio 19 kmGuánica Municipio 22 kmSabana Grande Municipio 24 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 25 kmJayuya 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
7:58 pm AST on 5 May 2023 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Tallaboa, PR · earthquakes near Tallaboa
Magnitude
M 3.0 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Peñuelas Municipio, 1 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1286 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 31 km (19 mi) from the epicentre. In Tallaboa, 3 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: Tallaboa 3 km, intensity III · Magas Arriba 4 km, intensity III · Tallaboa Alta 5 km, intensity III · Guayanilla 7 km, intensity III · Ponce 11 km, intensity II · Yauco 13 km, intensity II · Adjuntas 16 km, intensity II · Jayuya 27 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 800 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 6.7 420,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 19,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 13,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 800 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 150,000 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 18.0153, -66.7287. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 1 km (1 mi) N earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 7 km (5 mi) W earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) E earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) WNW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) N earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) WSW earthquakes near Guánica 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. 2.4 4 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.6 5 km SW of Gu?nica, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.0 1 km SSW of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.3 7 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.5 10 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.0 Puerto Rico region
  7. 3.3 Puerto Rico region
  8. 3.6 1 km ESE of Liborio Negron Torres, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.0 7 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.2 5 km ESE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 5 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 6 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.2 7 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.7 5 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.2 3 km SSW of Liborio Negron Torres, 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.