QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 9:40 am AST (13:40 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 2.8 earthquake was recorded 39 km (24 mi) southwest of Ponce, PR, at 10:42 pm AST on 1 September 2023 (02:42 UTC), 9.4 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

39 km (24 mi) WSW of Ponce, PR

10:42 pm AST, Sep 1, 2023 · · 9.4 km deep · released about 430 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guánica Municipio 16 kmLajas Municipio 22 kmGuayanilla Municipio 26 kmSabana Grande Municipio 31 kmYauco Municipio 32 kmPeñuelas Municipio 32 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 34 kmSan Germán Municipio 35 kmPonce Municipio 40 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
10:42 pm AST on 1 September 2023 ()
Where
39 km (24 mi) southwest of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
9.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guánica Municipio, 16 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1166 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 24 km (15 mi) from the epicentre. In Ponce, 39 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: Guánica, Maria Antonia, Fuig, La Parguera, Palomas, Indios.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 430 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 35,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 25,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 430 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 280,000 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 17.8080, -66.9272. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guánica Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) N earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) NNW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) NNE earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) N earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 32 km (20 mi) NNE earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 32 km (20 mi) NE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 13 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.6 9 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.3 4 km NNE of Lluveras, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.7 8 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.0 12 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.3 0 km ESE of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 1 km S of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.9 Puerto Rico region
  9. 2.7 3 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.3 1 km NE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.2 Puerto Rico region
  12. 2.7 20 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.5 9 km S of Gu?nica, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.0 Puerto Rico region
  15. 2.4 11 km SSW 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.