QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 9:02 am AST (13:02 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 1.9 earthquake was recorded 12 km (8 mi) north of Ponce, PR, at 12:47 am AST on 24 July 2023 (04:47 UTC), 22 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

14 km (8 mi) N of Ponce, PR

12:47 am AST, Jul 24, 2023 · · 22 km deep · released about 20 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Jayuya Municipio 11 kmPonce Municipio 13 kmVillalba Municipio 15 kmPeñuelas Municipio 16 kmAdjuntas Municipio 16 kmUtuado Municipio 19 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 19 kmOrocovis Municipio 22 kmCiales Municipio 22 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
12:47 am AST on 24 July 2023 ()
Where
12 km (8 mi) north of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
22 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Jayuya Municipio, 11 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1206 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Ponce, 12 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Coto Laurel, Jayuya, Tallaboa Alta, Adjuntas, Luis Llorens Torres, Guayabal.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 20 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 760,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 540,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 48× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 20 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 6,000,000 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 18.1210, -66.6180. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Jayuya Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) NNE earthquakes near Jayuya Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) S earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 15 km (10 mi) E earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) SW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) WNW earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Utuado Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) NNW earthquakes near Utuado Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 3 km E of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 3 km SSE of Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.6 1 km E of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.7 0 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.6 2 km SSW of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 0 km E of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 2 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 5 km E of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.8 8 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.0 3 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.4 2 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.6 2 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 7 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 Puerto Rico region
  15. 2.0 7 km SSE 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.