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 5:17 am AST (09:17 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 18 km (11 mi) southwest of Ponce, PR, at 7:16 am AST on 9 July 2023 (11:16 UTC), 5.9 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

18 km (11 mi) SW of Ponce, PR

7:16 am AST, Jul 9, 2023 · · 5.9 km deep · released about 890 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guayanilla Municipio 14 kmPeñuelas Municipio 15 kmPonce Municipio 19 kmGuánica Municipio 20 kmYauco Municipio 25 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 29 kmSabana Grande Municipio 31 kmAdjuntas Municipio 32 kmLajas Municipio 33 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
7:16 am AST on 9 July 2023 ()
Where
18 km (11 mi) southwest of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 3.0 (md)
Depth
5.9 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Guayanilla Municipio, 14 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1221 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, 18 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 12 km, intensity III · Magas Arriba 14 km, intensity III · Guayanilla 15 km, intensity III · Ponce 18 km, intensity II · Tallaboa Alta 19 km, intensity II · Yauco 20 km, intensity II · Adjuntas 30 km, intensity II · Río Cañas Abajo 34 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 890 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 6.7 380,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 17,000× 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 890 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 130,000 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 17.8898, -66.7433. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) NNW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 15 km (10 mi) N earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) NE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) WNW earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 25 km (15 mi) NNW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) ENE earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 3 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.0 3 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.5 Puerto Rico region
  4. 2.2 Puerto Rico region
  5. 2.7 3 km ESE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.6 Puerto Rico region
  7. 2.5 4 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.3 5 km E of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.2 1 km S of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.3 3 km E of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.6 7 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 3 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.6 10 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.0 8 km ESE of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.5 0 km NE of Capitanejo, 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.