QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 4.4mb

Earthquake near Tallaboa, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Tallaboa in the 24 hours to 12:53 pm AST (16:53 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 4.4 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) south-southeast of Tallaboa, PR, at 10:23 am AST on 7 January 2020 (14:23 UTC), 10 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 7 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico

10 km (6 mi) SW of Ponce, PR

10:23 am AST, Jan 7, 2020 · · 10 km deep · released about 60 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Tallaboa Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Peñuelas Municipio 12 kmPonce Municipio 12 kmGuayanilla Municipio 14 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 22 kmYauco Municipio 25 kmGuánica Municipio 25 kmAdjuntas Municipio 29 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 32 kmVillalba Municipio 32 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
10:23 am AST on 7 January 2020 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) south-southeast of Tallaboa, PR · earthquakes near Tallaboa
Magnitude
M 4.4 (mb)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
USGS impact alert
green
Nearest
Peñuelas Municipio, 12 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 129 km (80 mi) from the epicentre. In Tallaboa, 8 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 8 km, intensity IV · Ponce 11 km, intensity IV · Magas Arriba 13 km, intensity IV · Tallaboa Alta 13 km, intensity IV · Guayanilla 15 km, intensity IV · Yauco 21 km, intensity III · Adjuntas 26 km, intensity III · Río Cañas Abajo 26 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 60 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 2,800× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 4.4 about 60 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 130× 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 1,000 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 17.9304, -66.6875. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) NNW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) NE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) NW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) ENE earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 25 km (16 mi) NW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 25 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. 1.9 5 km SW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.6 8 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.7 4 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.7 9 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.7 1 km SW of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.9 4 km SE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 4.2 0 km SSW of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.9 5 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.3 3 km WSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.0 1 km NNE of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.4 9 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.2 5 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.4 0 km NE of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.7 1 km SSE of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.3 2 km E of Yauco, 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.