QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 4.5md

127 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Yes. A magnitude 4.5 earthquake was recorded 127 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, at 3:00 pm AST on 6 May 2020 (19:00 UTC), 44 km deep. 13 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

· 44 km deep · released about 97 tons of TNT

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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 4.5 (md)
Depth
44 km below the surface
Felt
13 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Aguadilla Municipio, 132 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2296 days ago

This was a light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 136 km (85 mi) from the epicentre. 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 97 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 1,700× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 78× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 55× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 4.5 about 97 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 200× more

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 4.7 on 2018-12-07 — about 1.6 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 19.5295, -67.7218. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 132 km (82 mi) SSE earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 138 km (86 mi) SSE earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 145 km (90 mi) SE earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 135 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.5 88 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  3. 3.6 105 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.5 96 km NNE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  5. 3.4 92 km NNE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  6. 2.6 87 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.4 90 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  8. 3.7 95 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  9. 3.4 109 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.2 92 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.2 96 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  12. 3.1 100 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  13. 3.5 107 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.5 139 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.6 98 km NE 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.