QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4md

Earthquake near Peñuelas, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Peñuelas in the 24 hours to 12:52 pm AST (16:52 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 8 km (5 mi) WSW, at 4:39 pm AST on 9 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Peñuelas

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) south-southwest of Peñuelas, PR, at 6:03 pm AST on 20 January 2025 (22:03 UTC), 44 km deep.

USGS: 2 km SSW of Peñuelas, Puerto Rico

12 km (7 mi) WNW of Ponce, PR

6:03 pm AST, Jan 20, 2025 · · 44 km deep · released about 140 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Peñuelas Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Peñuelas Municipio 1 kmGuayanilla Municipio 8 kmPonce Municipio 14 kmYauco Municipio 15 kmAdjuntas Municipio 17 kmGuánica Municipio 22 kmSabana Grande Municipio 23 kmJayuya Municipio 25 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 26 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
6:03 pm AST on 20 January 2025 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) south-southwest of Peñuelas, PR · earthquakes near Peñuelas
Magnitude
M 2.4 (md)
Depth
44 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Peñuelas Municipio, 1 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 660 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 Peñuelas, 3 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: Tallaboa Alta, Santo Domingo, Magas Arriba, Tallaboa, Guayanilla, Indios.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 140 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 110,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 78,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 140 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 870,000 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 18.0315, -66.7328. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 1 km (0 mi) SE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) WSW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) ESE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) WNW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) N earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) WSW earthquakes near Guánica Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 7 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.0 3 km NE of Lluveras, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.2 16 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 7 km NE of Espino, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.5 2 km NE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.8 2 km WNW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.5 3 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.3 4 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.2 1 km ENE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.6 3 km NNW of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.1 6 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.8 8 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.0 2 km SE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 1 km SE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.3 6 km WSW of Fuig, 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.