M 5.4 in Puerto Rico on 02 May 2020 11:13 UTC

Event summary

This earthquake can have a medium humanitarian impact based on the magnitude and the affected population and their vulnerability.

GDACS ID EQ 1216341
Earthquake Magnitude: 5.4M
Glide number: EQ-2020-000001-PRI
Depth: 9 Km
Lat/Lon: 17.937 , -66.7266
Event Date: 02 May 2020 11:13 UTC
02 May 2020 07:13 Local
Exposed Population: About 54000 people in MMI
3350000 people within 100km
Inserted at: 02 May 2020 14:40 UTC

GDACS Score

For more info on GDACS alert score click here.
  Earthquake
(Shakemap)		 GDACS score
PRICO RS 1.2 1.2
pr2020123010 Scaled population (raster) 3.48  
  C1 shakemap -0.59  
  C2 shakemap 0.53  
  Country Vulnerability 0  
  INFORM_normalised 1  
Maximum expected impact using different data sources.
Virtual OSOCC
Meteo assessment
Satellite products
Analytical products
Puerto Rico - Earthquake (ECHO 04 May 2020)Mon, 04 May 2020 13:05

  • An earthquake of 5.4 M at a depth of 9 km struck off the southern coast of Puerto Rico, on 2 May at 11:13 UTC. The epicentre was approximately 6 km south of Tallaboa Town and 11 km south-west of the Ponce City. 
  • Up to 62,000 people were exposed to very strong shaking and 71,000 to strong shaking. Several aftershocks with a magnitude up to 4.6 M have been reported.
  • Media reports, as of 4 May, 50 displaced families, minor damage to buildings, power outages and small landslides triggered by the seismic event.
  • On 7 January an earthquake of 6.5 M occurred in the same area leading to at least one death and several displaced people.
Detailed event map. European Union, 2024. Map produced by EC-JRC.
The boundaries and the names shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the European Union.

Updates on volcanic activity (Smithsonian)

Latest media headlines

Articles: 145 | About casualties: 1 | Last hour: 0

4.9 earthquake rattles TrinidadTue, 05 May 2020 07:37:00 +0200.

There is not much news out there yet, but just two days after the 5.4 earthquake recorded in southern Puerto Rico, there was another one felt in Trinidad and Tobago. announced that a 4.9 earthquake was felt about 6:30 this evening in Trinid
...(more)
5.4-magnitude earthquake hits near Puerto RicoMon, 04 May 2020 17:08:00 +0200.

A 5.4-magnitude earthquake hit near southern Puerto Rico on Saturday, jolting many from their beds and forcing at least 50 families to relocate on an island from previous quakes earlier this year. There were no immediate reports of casualt
...(more)
Un service de prière interrompu en direct par un tremblement de terreMon, 04 May 2020 16:40:00 +0200.

Samedi dernier, un prêtre dirigeant un service de prière en ligne a été surpris par le tremblement de terre qui a frappé le sud de Porto Rico. Le séisme, d’une magnitude de 5,4, a fait trembler son autel, ainsi qu’une statue d’ange.
Sacude terremoto sur de Puerto RicoMon, 04 May 2020 04:41:00 +0200.

Un sismo de magnitud 5,4 sacudió el sábado el sur de Puerto Rico , cortó brevemente la electricidad y obligó a muchos a salir de sus camas y a las calles en una isla donde algunas personas aún permanecen en refugios por terremotos ocurridos
...(more)

View more news

Estimated casualties (PAGER)

USGS estimates the number of casualties for each earthquake for the Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) product.
The graph shows the current fatalities estimate.

Exposed population

Data, images, links, services and documents

For this events, GDACS has links to information from the following sources: EC-JRC (48), (3), NEIC (6), OCHA (1), INGV (1), USGS (5), INFORM (2),