Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.8md
71 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Yes. A magnitude 3.8 earthquake was recorded 71 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, at 1:55 am AST on 14 May 2023 (05:55 UTC), 90 km deep.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 3.8 (md)
- Depth
- 90 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Aguadilla Municipio, 101 km SE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1207 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 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 8.1 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 21,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 930× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 660× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.8 about 8.1 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 17× 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 19 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 19.0276, -67.9136. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aguadilla Municipio, PR | 101 km (63 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio |
| Rincón Municipio, PR | 104 km (64 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Rincón Municipio |
| Mayagüez Municipio, PR | 105 km (65 mi) | S | earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio |
| Aguada Municipio, PR | 106 km (66 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Aguada Municipio |
| Isabela Municipio, PR | 112 km (70 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Isabela Municipio |
| Moca Municipio, PR | 114 km (71 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Moca Municipio |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
40 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.2 66 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
- 3.6 89 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
- 3.4 Dominican Republic region
- 3.6 44 km N of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
- 3.4 Mona Passage
- 3.4 56 km N of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
- 3.4 39 km N of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
- 3.4 43 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
- 2.6 70 km NNE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
- 3.4 76 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
- 3.6 105 km NNE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
- 3.4 42 km N of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
- 3.2 62 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
- 3.7 94 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
- 3.4 76 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.