QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

60 km ENE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Yes. A magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 60 km ENE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, at 8:23 pm AST on 9 August 2018 (00:23 UTC), 58 km deep.

· 58 km deep · released about 160 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mayagüez Municipio 86 kmRincón Municipio 89 kmAguadilla Municipio 90 kmAguada Municipio 92 kmMoca Municipio 102 kmIsabela Municipio 102 kmAñasco Municipio 103 kmQuebradillas Municipio 111 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 114 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
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
58 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mayagüez Municipio, 86 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3015 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 160 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 92,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 65,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 160 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 in our catalogue was M 4.4 on 2017-10-01 — about 730 times the energy of this one.

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 18.8528, -67.9036. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 86 km (53 mi) S earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 89 km (56 mi) SE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 90 km (56 mi) ESE earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 92 km (57 mi) SE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 102 km (63 mi) ESE earthquakes near Moca Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 102 km (64 mi) ESE earthquakes near Isabela Municipio

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

41 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 3.2 78 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.9 91 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.1 54 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  4. 2.9 75 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  5. 2.8 89 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 48 km NNE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  7. 2.6 50 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.3 84 km NNE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  9. 2.8 74 km ENE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  10. 2.6 66 km ENE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  11. 3.4 89 km NNE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  12. 3.1 31 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  13. 3.0 94 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.0 78 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  15. 2.9 80 km NW of San Antonio, 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.