QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9ml

Earthquake near Yauco, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Yauco in the 24 hours to 2:43 pm AST (18:43 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 6 km (4 mi) ESE, at 4:39 pm AST on 9 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Yauco

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 2 km (1 mi) south-southeast of Yauco, PR, at 4:04 am AST on 13 January 2020 (08:04 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: 2 km SSE of Yauco, Puerto Rico

23 km (15 mi) W of Ponce, PR

4:04 am AST, Jan 13, 2020 · · 10 km deep · released about 680 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Yauco Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guayanilla Municipio 5 kmYauco Municipio 8 kmGuánica Municipio 11 kmPeñuelas Municipio 12 kmSabana Grande Municipio 13 kmMaricao Municipio 20 kmAdjuntas Municipio 21 kmLajas Municipio 21 kmSan Germán Municipio 23 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
4:04 am AST on 13 January 2020 ()
Where
2 km (1 mi) south-southeast of Yauco, PR · earthquakes near Yauco
Magnitude
M 2.9 (ml)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guayanilla Municipio, 5 km ESE
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 30 km (19 mi) from the epicentre. In Yauco, 2 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: Yauco 2 km, intensity III · Guayanilla 6 km, intensity III · Magas Arriba 8 km, intensity III · Tallaboa 14 km, intensity II · Tallaboa Alta 16 km, intensity II · Adjuntas 21 km, intensity II · San Germán 22 km, intensity II · Ponce 23 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 680 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 680 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 180,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 49 km NNW of this epicentre

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 18.0149, -66.8453. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) ESE earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) N earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) SW earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) E earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) NW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) NNW earthquakes near Maricao 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. 2.2 10 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.5 28 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.3 7 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.7 8 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.6 3 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 5 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.6 8 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.5 2 km SSE of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.8 6 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.0 9 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.7 6 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.2 16 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.8 4 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.5 9 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  15. 4.0 26 km S 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.