Earthquake near Tallaboa, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Tallaboa in the 24 hours to 7:13 pm AST (23:13 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 9 km (5 mi) WNW, at 4:39 pm AST on 9 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Tallaboa

This page: a magnitude 4.7 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) south-southeast of Tallaboa, PR, at 5:42 am AST on 7 January 2020 (09:42 UTC), 10 km deep. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 9 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico

12 km (7 mi) SW of Ponce, PR

5:42 am AST, Jan 7, 2020 · 2020-01-07 09:42 UTC · 10 km deep · released about 170 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Tallaboa Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area

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: 5:42 am AST on 7 January 2020 (2020-01-07 09:42 UTC)
Where: 10 km (6 mi) south-southeast of Tallaboa, PR · earthquakes near Tallaboa
Magnitude: M 4.7 (mb)
Depth: 10 km below the surface
Felt: 4 reports · strongest reported intensity V
Measured shaking: intensity III (ShakeMap)
USGS impact alert: green
Nearest: Ponce Municipio, 13 km NE
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 2421 days ago · we first saw it 2421 days ago

This was a light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 159 km (99 mi) from the epicentre. In Tallaboa, 10 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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: Tallaboa 10 km, intensity IV · Ponce 13 km, intensity IV · Magas Arriba 14 km, intensity IV · Tallaboa Alta 15 km, intensity IV · Guayanilla 16 km, intensity IV · Yauco 22 km, intensity IV · Río Cañas Abajo 27 km, intensity IV · Adjuntas 28 km, intensity IV. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 170 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 1,000× the energy of this one
Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 4.7 about 170 tons of TNT
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 350× 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 since 2016 was M 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 350 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

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Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Ponce Municipio, PR	13 km (8 mi)	NE	earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR	13 km (8 mi)	NNW	earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR	15 km (10 mi)	NW	earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR	23 km (14 mi)	ENE	earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR	25 km (16 mi)	W	earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR	26 km (16 mi)	NW	earthquakes near Yauco Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

3.5 8 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico 11:18 UTC
2.3 3 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico 11:15 UTC
4.3 8 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico 11:14 UTC
2.0 2 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico 11:12 UTC
2.1 4 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico 11:10 UTC
2.3 10 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico 11:09 UTC
2.4 12 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico 11:08 UTC
2.2 0 km NNE of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico 11:08 UTC
2.7 6 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico 11:07 UTC
3.2 2 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico 11:04 UTC
4.3 4 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico 11:02 UTC
2.4 3 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico 11:01 UTC
2.0 2 km SSW of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico 10:57 UTC
2.4 2 km S of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico 10:52 UTC
1.9 5 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico 10:51 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 23:13 UTC. QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.