QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 5.0mww

Earthquake near Tallaboa, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Tallaboa in the 24 hours to 10:13 am AST (14:13 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 5.0 earthquake was recorded 7 km (5 mi) southeast of Tallaboa, PR, at 4:50 am AST on 7 January 2020 (08:50 UTC), 10 km deep. 82 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 7 km SE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico

8 km (5 mi) SW of Ponce, PR

4:50 am AST, Jan 7, 2020 · · 10 km deep · released about 480 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Tallaboa Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ponce Municipio 10 kmPeñuelas Municipio 11 kmGuayanilla Municipio 15 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 21 kmYauco Municipio 25 kmGuánica Municipio 26 kmAdjuntas Municipio 28 kmVillalba Municipio 30 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 30 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
4:50 am AST on 7 January 2020 ()
Where
7 km (5 mi) southeast of Tallaboa, PR · earthquakes near Tallaboa
Magnitude
M 5.0 (mww)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
82 reports · strongest reported intensity VII
Measured shaking
intensity V (ShakeMap)
USGS impact alert
green
Nearest
Ponce Municipio, 10 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2426 days ago

This was a moderate earthquake. Shaking at this size can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 193 km (120 mi) from the epicentre. In Tallaboa, 7 km away, the estimate is intensity V (moderate). 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 7 km, intensity V · Ponce 9 km, intensity V · Tallaboa Alta 12 km, intensity V · Magas Arriba 13 km, intensity V · Guayanilla 15 km, intensity IV · Yauco 21 km, intensity IV · Río Cañas Abajo 24 km, intensity IV · Adjuntas 25 km, intensity IV. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 480 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 6.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 350× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 16× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 11× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 5.0 about 480 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1,000× 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 130 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 17.9418, -66.6754. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ponce Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) NE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) NNW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) WNW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) ENE earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 25 km (16 mi) NW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) W earthquakes near Guánica 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.

  1. 2.7 2 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.7 11 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.8 11 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.4 12 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.7 2 km S of Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.3 7 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 3 km S of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.7 7 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.9 7 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.7 10 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.9 7 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.2 1 km SSW of Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico
  13. 4.1 7 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.6 6 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.3 2 km SE 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.