QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

70 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Yes. A magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 70 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, at 7:25 pm AST on 8 September 2018 (23:25 UTC), 30 km deep.

· 30 km deep · released about 91 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Aguadilla Municipio 105 kmMayagüez Municipio 107 kmRincón Municipio 107 kmAguada Municipio 109 kmIsabela Municipio 116 kmMoca Municipio 117 kmAñasco Municipio 120 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 2.3 (md)
Depth
30 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Aguadilla Municipio, 105 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2986 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 91 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 170,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 120,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 10× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 91 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.

Where

Epicentre 19.0420, -67.9448. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 105 km (65 mi) SE earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 107 km (66 mi) S earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 107 km (67 mi) SE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 109 km (68 mi) SE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 116 km (72 mi) ESE earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 117 km (73 mi) SE earthquakes near Moca 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. 2.0 56 km N of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  2. 3.0 65 km NNE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  3. 3.0 102 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  4. 3.1 47 km ENE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  5. 3.0 42 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  6. 2.3 64 km N of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  7. 3.2 78 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.9 91 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.1 54 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  10. 2.9 75 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  11. 2.8 89 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.8 48 km NNE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  13. 3.3 84 km NNE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  14. 2.8 74 km ENE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  15. 3.1 58 km N of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

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.