QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Tallaboa Alta, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Tallaboa Alta in the 24 hours to 10:50 am AST (14:50 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 2.6 earthquake was recorded in Tallaboa Alta, PR, at 11:17 pm AST on 12 January 2020 (03:17 UTC), 10 km deep. 6 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 0 km NNW of Tallaboa Alta, Puerto Rico

10 km (6 mi) NW of Ponce, PR

11:17 pm AST, Jan 12, 2020 · · 10 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Tallaboa Alta Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Peñuelas Municipio 4 kmGuayanilla Municipio 12 kmPonce Municipio 12 kmAdjuntas Municipio 15 kmYauco Municipio 17 kmJayuya Municipio 21 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 23 kmUtuado Municipio 24 kmVillalba Municipio 26 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
11:17 pm AST on 12 January 2020 ()
Where
in Tallaboa Alta, PR · earthquakes near Tallaboa Alta
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
6 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Peñuelas Municipio, 4 km SW
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 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. 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 in town, intensity III · Tallaboa 7 km, intensity II · Magas Arriba 8 km, intensity II · Ponce 10 km, intensity II · Guayanilla 10 km, intensity II · Adjuntas 12 km, intensity II · Yauco 16 km, intensity II · Jayuya 22 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 lb of TNT

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 500,000 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 18.0554, -66.7022. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 4 km (3 mi) SW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) WSW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) ESE earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) NNW earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 17 km (10 mi) WNW earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Jayuya Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) NE earthquakes near Jayuya 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 5 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.2 16 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.2 3 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 3 km SSW of Peñuelas, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.7 2 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.6 15 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.7 2 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.2 4 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.9 14 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.9 3 km E of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.8 8 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.2 4 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.8 5 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.0 5 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  15. 4.2 4 km SW of Tallaboa, 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.