QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 3:22 pm AST (19:22 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 3.0 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) south-southeast of Ponce, PR, at 3:53 am AST on 20 September 2026 (07:53 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 6 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico

6 km (4 mi) SSE of Ponce, PR

3:53 am AST, Sep 20, 2026 · · 14 km deep · released about 1,100 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ponce Municipio 6 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 13 kmPeñuelas Municipio 16 kmGuayanilla Municipio 22 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 23 kmVillalba Municipio 24 kmJayuya Municipio 29 kmAdjuntas Municipio 30 kmCoamo Municipio 31 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
3:53 am AST on 20 September 2026 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) south-southeast of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 3.0 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Ponce Municipio, 6 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 52 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 37 km (23 mi) from the epicentre. In Ponce, 7 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: Ponce 7 km, intensity III · Tallaboa 13 km, intensity II · Tallaboa Alta 15 km, intensity II · Río Cañas Abajo 17 km, intensity II · Magas Arriba 19 km, intensity II · Santa Isabel 21 km, intensity II · Guayanilla 21 km, intensity II · Adjuntas 27 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,100 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 6.7 300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 13,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 9,400× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 1,100 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 110,000 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 17.9513, -66.6015. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ponce Municipio, PR 6 km (3 mi) N earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) ENE earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) WNW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 22 km (13 mi) WNW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) E earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) NE earthquakes near Villalba Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 2 km WSW of Liborio Negron Torres, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.2 3 km ENE of Lluveras, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.4 3 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.9 4 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 0 km NNE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.3 5 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 2 km N of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.2 2 km SW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.7 4 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.8 16 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 5 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.0 8 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 3 km W of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.1 2 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.4 3 km SSE of Maria Antonia, 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.