QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 4.0md

112 km NNE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Yes. A magnitude 4.0 earthquake was recorded 112 km NNE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, at 10:59 pm AST on 6 May 2020 (02:59 UTC), 10 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

· 10 km deep · released about 15 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 4.0 (md)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Aguadilla Municipio, 135 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

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

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 96 km (60 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 15 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 12,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 520× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 370× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 4.0 about 15 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 31× 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 10 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 19.4725, -67.8821. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 135 km (84 mi) SE earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 143 km (89 mi) SE earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 150 km (93 mi) SE earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 157 km (97 mi) SE earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 162 km (100 mi) SE earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 87 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.4 90 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  3. 3.7 95 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  4. 3.4 109 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.2 96 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  6. 3.1 100 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  7. 3.5 107 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.3 75 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  9. 3.5 139 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.6 98 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  11. 3.6 81 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  12. 3.0 81 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  13. 2.7 87 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.4 101 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.9 92 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.