QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.8md

86 km SE of Boca de Yuma, Dominican Republic

Yes. A magnitude 3.8 earthquake was recorded 86 km SE of Boca de Yuma, Dominican Republic, at 5:16 pm AST on 31 August 2024 (21:16 UTC), 39 km deep.

· 39 km deep · released about 8.4 tons of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mayagüez Municipio 38 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 97 kmRincón Municipio 106 kmHormigueros Municipio 108 kmLajas Municipio 111 kmAñasco Municipio 114 kmAguada Municipio 114 kmSan Germán Municipio 115 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 3.8 (md)
Depth
39 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mayagüez Municipio, 38 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 732 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 75 km (47 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 8.4 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.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 20,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 900× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 640× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.8 about 8.4 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 18× 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 4.8 on 2024-08-26 — about 29 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 17.7863, -68.0685. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 38 km (24 mi) NNE earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 97 km (60 mi) ENE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 106 km (66 mi) NE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 108 km (67 mi) ENE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 111 km (69 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 114 km (71 mi) ENE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.7 66 km SE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  2. 4.0 45 km SE of Boca de Yuma, Dominican Republic
  3. 3.6 47 km SSE of Boca de Yuma, Dominican Republic
  4. 3.1 63 km SE of Boca de Yuma, Dominican Republic
  5. 3.4 73 km W of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.4 61 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.4 60 km SE of Boca de Yuma, Dominican Republic
  8. 3.4 55 km SE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  9. 3.4 53 km SE of Boca de Yuma, Dominican Republic
  10. 3.4 52 km SSE of Boca de Yuma, Dominican Republic
  11. 3.4 48 km SE of Boca de Yuma, Dominican Republic
  12. 3.4 47 km SSE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  13. 3.1 75 km W of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.4 83 km W of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.6 37 km SSE of Boca de Yuma, 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.