QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 4.2mwr

Earthquake near Indios, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Indios in the last 24 hours. M 2.1, 3 km (2 mi) W of Indios, at 4:14 pm AST on 11 November 2026 (20:14 UTC); the estimated shaking in Indios was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Indios

This page: a magnitude 4.2 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) southeast of Indios, PR, at 10:04 am AST on 7 January 2020 (14:04 UTC), 12 km deep. 20 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 6 km SE of Indios, Puerto Rico

17 km (11 mi) WSW of Ponce, PR

10:04 am AST, Jan 7, 2020 · · 12 km deep · released about 30 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Indios Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guayanilla Municipio 6 kmPeñuelas Municipio 9 kmGuánica Municipio 15 kmYauco Municipio 17 kmPonce Municipio 19 kmSabana Grande Municipio 23 kmAdjuntas Municipio 25 kmLajas Municipio 28 kmMaricao Municipio 29 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
10:04 am AST on 7 January 2020 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) southeast of Indios, PR · earthquakes near Indios
Magnitude
M 4.2 (mwr)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
20 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Guayanilla Municipio, 6 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2426 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 112 km (70 mi) from the epicentre. In Indios, 6 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: Magas Arriba 7 km, intensity IV · Guayanilla 7 km, intensity IV · Tallaboa 8 km, intensity IV · Yauco 12 km, intensity IV · Tallaboa Alta 13 km, intensity IV · Ponce 17 km, intensity III · Adjuntas 24 km, intensity III · San Germán 31 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 30 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 5,600× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 250× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 180× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 4.2 about 30 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 63× 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 2,000 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 17.9563, -66.7779. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) NNW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) NE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 15 km (10 mi) W earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 17 km (10 mi) NNW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) ENE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) NW earthquakes near Sabana Grande 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. 2.3 3 km WSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.0 1 km NNE of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.4 9 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.2 5 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.4 0 km NE of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.7 1 km SSE of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 2 km E of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.7 21 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.8 2 km N of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.1 1 km NNW of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.9 24 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 2 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 6 km SW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.0 11 km N of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.0 2 km ESE of Indios, 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.