QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 12:12 pm AST (16:12 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 2.5 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) east-northeast of Ponce, PR, at 6:40 pm AST on 21 July 2025 (22:40 UTC), 16 km deep.

USGS: 2 km ENE of Ponce, Puerto Rico

in Ponce, PR

6:40 pm AST, Jul 21, 2025 · · 16 km deep · released about 150 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ponce Municipio 2 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 12 kmPeñuelas Municipio 13 kmVillalba Municipio 18 kmGuayanilla Municipio 21 kmJayuya Municipio 21 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 24 kmAdjuntas Municipio 24 kmCoamo Municipio 27 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
6:40 pm AST on 21 July 2025 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) east-northeast of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Ponce Municipio, 2 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 478 days ago

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

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Ponce, 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.

Likely felt in: Ponce 3 km, intensity II · Tallaboa Alta 11 km, intensity II · Tallaboa 13 km, intensity II · Río Cañas Abajo 14 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 150 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 72,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6.5× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 150 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 810,000 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 18.0217, -66.6008. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ponce Municipio, PR 2 km (1 mi) SSW earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) ESE earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) W earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) NE earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) W earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Jayuya Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) N earthquakes near Jayuya 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. 1.8 3 km NNW of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.2 3 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.9 5 km SW of Liborio Negron Torres, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.2 6 km ENE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 22 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.1 11 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.2 2 km W of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 6 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.9 6 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 2 km ENE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.3 2 km ENE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 6 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.4 4 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.8 2 km NE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.7 3 km ENE of Magas Arriba, 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.