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 12:51 pm AST (16:51 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 13 km (8 mi) south-southeast of Tallaboa, PR, at 4:18 pm AST on 14 September 2023 (20:18 UTC), 6.4 km deep.

USGS: 12 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico

12 km (8 mi) SSW of Ponce, PR

4:18 pm AST, Sep 14, 2023 · · 6.4 km deep · released about 890 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Tallaboa Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ponce Municipio 13 kmPeñuelas Municipio 17 kmGuayanilla Municipio 19 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 21 kmGuánica Municipio 29 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 29 kmYauco Municipio 30 kmVillalba Municipio 33 kmAdjuntas Municipio 34 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
4:18 pm AST on 14 September 2023 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) south-southeast of Tallaboa, PR · earthquakes near Tallaboa
Magnitude
M 3.0 (md)
Depth
6.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Ponce Municipio, 13 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1154 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 Tallaboa, 13 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 13 km, intensity III · Ponce 13 km, intensity III · Tallaboa Alta 18 km, intensity II · Magas Arriba 18 km, intensity II · Guayanilla 20 km, intensity II · Río Cañas Abajo 26 km, intensity II · Yauco 26 km, intensity II · Santa Isabel 28 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 since 2016 was M 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 130,000 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 17.8947, -66.6563. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ponce Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) NNE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 17 km (10 mi) NNW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) NW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) ENE earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) WNW earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) ENE earthquakes near Santa Isabel 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. 1.6 Puerto Rico region
  2. 2.2 3 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.3 2 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 2 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.6 Puerto Rico region
  6. 2.4 Puerto Rico region
  7. 2.7 Puerto Rico region
  8. 2.4 Puerto Rico region
  9. 2.4 3 km SSE of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.3 Puerto Rico region
  11. 2.8 5 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.2 6 km NE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.4 Puerto Rico region
  14. 2.4 5 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.6 Puerto Rico region

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.