QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.2md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 11:23 am AST (15:23 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 3.2 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) north of Ponce, PR, at 3:41 pm AST on 27 October 2023 (19:41 UTC), 127 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

19 km (12 mi) N of Ponce, PR

3:41 pm AST, Oct 27, 2023 · · 127 km deep · released about 1,700 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Jayuya Municipio 6 kmUtuado Municipio 13 kmAdjuntas Municipio 14 kmVillalba Municipio 17 kmCiales Municipio 18 kmPonce Municipio 19 kmPeñuelas Municipio 19 kmOrocovis Municipio 21 kmFlorida Municipio 23 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
3:41 pm AST on 27 October 2023 ()
Where
18 km (11 mi) north of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 3.2 (md)
Depth
127 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Jayuya Municipio, 6 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1111 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Ponce, 18 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Jayuya, Adjuntas, Utuado, Villalba, Tallaboa Alta, Coto Laurel.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,700 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 8,800× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 6,200× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,700 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.8× more

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 70,000 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 18.1732, -66.6282. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Jayuya Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) NE earthquakes near Jayuya Municipio
Utuado Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) NW earthquakes near Utuado Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) W earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) ESE earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Ciales Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) NE earthquakes near Ciales Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) S earthquakes near Ponce 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. 2.1 7 km S of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.4 0 km ESE of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.8 Puerto Rico region
  4. 1.8 Puerto Rico region
  5. 3.0 1 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.0 9 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.5 1 km E of Playita Cortada, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.1 1 km NNW of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.2 Puerto Rico region
  10. 2.0 1 km NNE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.8 0 km NW of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 5 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 Puerto Rico region
  14. 2.8 Puerto Rico region
  15. 3.1 3 km WSW of Gu?nica, 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.