28 km SSW of San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic

2017-04-20 23:24 UTC · 58 km deep · released about 30 tons of TNT

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: 2017-04-20 23:24 UTC
Magnitude: M 4.2 (mb)
Depth: 58 km below the surface
Felt: 50 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 3366 days ago · we first saw it 3366 days ago

This was a light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon. 50 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 30 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 5,600× the energy of this one
Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 250× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 180× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 4.2 about 30 tons of TNT
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 63× 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.

Where

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Epicentre 18.2078, -69.3757. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Aftershocks so far

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

3.0 22 km S of La Romana, Dominican Republic 06:58 UTC
2.5 50 km S of La Romana, Dominican Republic 03:34 UTC
4.4 44 km S of San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic 12:40 UTC
3.0 18 km SSE of La Romana, Dominican Republic 04:56 UTC
2.6 12 km SW of La Romana, Dominican Republic 08:48 UTC
2.8 16 km SSW of La Romana, Dominican Republic 05:36 UTC
3.2 33 km S of La Romana, Dominican Republic 03:20 UTC
2.9 30 km S of La Romana, Dominican Republic 22:27 UTC
3.0 36 km S of La Romana, Dominican Republic 09:03 UTC
2.9 31 km S of La Romana, Dominican Republic 06:56 UTC
2.8 17 km SSE of La Romana, Dominican Republic 13:10 UTC
3.1 27 km S of La Romana, Dominican Republic 22:02 UTC
4.1 10 km ESE of Ramón Santana, Dominican Republic 07:41 UTC
2.9 7 km NE of Ramón Santana, Dominican Republic 18:44 UTC
4.3 7 km NNE of Quisqueya, Dominican Republic 12:19 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 22:21 UTC. 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.