QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1ml

Earthquake near Tallaboa Alta, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Tallaboa Alta in the 24 hours to 8:05 pm AST (00:05 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 10 km (6 mi) WSW, at 4:39 pm AST on 9 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Tallaboa Alta

This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) south-southwest of Tallaboa Alta, PR, at 7:33 pm AST on 12 January 2020 (23:33 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: 3 km SSW of Tallaboa Alta, Puerto Rico

10 km (6 mi) WNW of Ponce, PR

7:33 pm AST, Jan 12, 2020 · · 10 km deep · released about 1,300 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Tallaboa Alta Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Peñuelas Municipio 1 kmGuayanilla Municipio 9 kmPonce Municipio 12 kmYauco Municipio 16 kmAdjuntas Municipio 18 kmGuánica Municipio 24 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 24 kmJayuya Municipio 24 kmSabana Grande Municipio 25 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
7:33 pm AST on 12 January 2020 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) south-southwest of Tallaboa Alta, PR · earthquakes near Tallaboa Alta
Magnitude
M 3.1 (ml)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Peñuelas Municipio, 1 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2414 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 41 km (25 mi) from the epicentre. In Tallaboa Alta, 3 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Tallaboa Alta 3 km, intensity III · Tallaboa 4 km, intensity III · Magas Arriba 6 km, intensity III · Guayanilla 8 km, intensity III · Ponce 10 km, intensity III · Yauco 14 km, intensity III · Adjuntas 15 km, intensity III · Jayuya 25 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,300 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,900× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,300 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.4× 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 89,000 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 18.0280, -66.7155. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 1 km (1 mi) W earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) WSW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) ESE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) WNW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) NNW earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) WSW 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. 3.5 3 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 0 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.5 4 km SE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.9 2 km ESE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.6 3 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.6 14 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.5 16 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.6 7 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.9 12 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 10 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 10 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 6 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.7 12 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 17 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.8 5 km SE 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.