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United States · Puerto Rico

M1.6 Earthquake near Ponce, Puerto Rico (United States)

UTC time: 2026-09-21 06:40:40 UTC Local time: —

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About this earthquake

A magnitude M1.6 earthquake was recorded near Ponce, Puerto Rico (United States) on September 21, 2026 at 06:40 UTC. With a focal depth of about 14 km, this was a shallow earthquake, whose shaking is usually felt more strongly at the surface. Events of this size typically go unnoticed.

The event was recorded by USGS. United States: 178 earthquakes were recorded in the past 24 hours, the strongest reaching M3.3.

Details

ID
501659048401752856750cbec2411a7649ac7a6e
Magnitude
M1.6
Depth
13.6 km
UTC time
2026-09-21 06:40:40 UTC
Local time
—
Country
United States
State
Puerto Rico
City
Ponce
County
Ponce
Source
usgs
Coordinates
17.94750, -66.60000
Temperature
25.9°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 13.6 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 13.6 km
Shallow
13.6 km
13.6 km — close to the regional average (15.2 km)
Regional average: 15.2 km
Why depth matters

Shallow quakes release energy near the surface — shaking is felt more strongly and damage potential is higher.

Depth classes per USGS

Volcanoes nearby

  • Saba
    Distance: 359 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 887 m ·Last eruption: 1640 ·Netherlands
  • Quill, The
    Distance: 389 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 601 m ·Last eruption: 250 ·Netherlands
  • Liamuiga
    Distance: 408 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'156 m ·Last eruption: 160 ·Saint Kitts and Nevis
  • Nevis Peak
    Distance: 435 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 985 m ·Saint Kitts and Nevis
  • Soufriere Hills
    Distance: 489 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 915 m ·Last eruption: 2013 ·United Kingdom

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Mercedita International AirportPuerto Rico · PSE · TJPS
    7.8 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-09-21

This selection shows geographic proximity, not a hazard zone or confirmed impacts. Distances use recorded site coordinates. Sources & data dates

Puerto Rico

Context for this earthquake

21 Sep 2025 – 21 Sep 2026 · M ≥ 2.0 · 893 Catalogue entries

Sufficiently reliable matching data are not currently available for a direct comparison. The area profile shows the available records and their limitations.

Open seismic profile

Historic earthquake map · United States

Open history map
Explore recent and long-term earthquake activity in this country. Use filters to narrow down by magnitude, depth, and date range.

Country statistics · United States

Country overview
View earthquake KPIs, strongest and latest events, and averages for this country.

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