QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 2:16 pm AST (18:16 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 2.3 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) west-southwest of Ponce, PR, at 1:09 am AST on 7 July 2023 (05:09 UTC), 16 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

24 km (15 mi) WSW of Ponce, PR

1:09 am AST, Jul 7, 2023 · · 16 km deep · released about 77 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guayanilla Municipio 8 kmGuánica Municipio 8 kmPeñuelas Municipio 15 kmYauco Municipio 15 kmSabana Grande Municipio 19 kmLajas Municipio 21 kmPonce Municipio 26 kmMaricao Municipio 27 kmSan Germán Municipio 27 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
1:09 am AST on 7 July 2023 ()
Where
24 km (15 mi) west-southwest of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guayanilla Municipio, 8 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1224 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Ponce, 24 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: Yauco 10 km, intensity II · Guayanilla 10 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 77 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 5.8 200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 140,000× 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 77 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 1,600,000 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 17.9497, -66.8448. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) NE earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) W earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) NE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) N earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) NW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) W earthquakes near Lajas Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 1 km S of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.3 3 km E of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.6 7 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.3 3 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.6 10 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.0 8 km ESE of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.5 0 km NE of Capitanejo, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.2 18 km SSW of Gu?nica, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.1 6 km WSW of Gu?nica, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 0 km SSE of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 0 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.8 Puerto Rico region
  13. 2.6 2 km ESE of Lluveras, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.8 5 km SSW of Capitanejo, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.7 21 km S of Indios, 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.