QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2md

Earthquake near Guánica, PR

Yes. A magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) southwest of Guánica, PR, at 4:44 am AST on 18 October 2026 (08:44 UTC), 7.6 km deep. No felt reports to USGS yet.

USGS: 4 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico

34 km (21 mi) W of Ponce, PR

4:44 am AST, Oct 18, 2026 · · 7.6 km deep · released about 56 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guánica Municipio 2 kmLajas Municipio 11 kmSabana Grande Municipio 15 kmGuayanilla Municipio 16 kmYauco Municipio 18 kmSan Germán Municipio 21 kmPeñuelas Municipio 24 kmMaricao Municipio 25 kmCabo Rojo 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
4:44 am AST on 18 October 2026 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) southwest of Guánica, PR · earthquakes near Guánica
Magnitude
M 2.2 (md)
Depth
7.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guánica Municipio, 2 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 16 hours 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Guánica, 4 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: Guánica 4 km, intensity II · Fuig 5 km, intensity II · Maria Antonia 6 km, intensity II · Palomas 10 km, intensity II · Liborio Negron Torres 11 km, intensity II · Lluveras 11 km, intensity II · La Parguera 12 km, intensity II · Yauco 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 56 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 270,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 190,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 17× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 56 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 2,100,000 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 17.9472, -66.9387. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guánica Municipio, PR 2 km (1 mi) E earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 15 km (10 mi) N earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) ENE earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) NNE earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) NNW earthquakes near San Germán Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 6 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.1 5 km SE 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.