M4.8 Earthquake in the Dominican Republic region — May 18, 2023
2023-05-18 08:43:56 UTC (2023-05-18) · approx. 3:43 AM UTC-5 local
Felt by 114 people across surrounding communities.
On May 18, 2023 at 08:43 UTC, a magnitude 4.8 shallow crustal earthquake struck in the Dominican Republic region, at a depth of 15.3 km and coordinates 19.7455°, -70.7991°. This earthquake was detected by 161 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 411, placing it among routine seismic activity.
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 4.8 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 239 metric tons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 1.2 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.
Did You Feel It? — community-reported shaking
Aggregated felt-report intensity from 114 citizen responses to the USGS Did You Feel It? system. Each colored zone represents the average MMI from reports in that area.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey Did You Feel It?. View on USGS · submit your own report
Earthquake Details
-70.7991°E
Technical Information
Nearby Earthquakes (Last 7 Days)
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 4.8 earthquake in the Dominican Republic region?
The magnitude 4.8 earthquake that struck in the Dominican Republic region on May 18, 2023 at 08:43 UTC had a depth of 15.3 km. For context, this was a light earthquake commonly felt near the epicenter.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at 19.7455°, -70.7991°, which is in the Dominican Republic region.
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 4.8 earthquakes can continue for several days and gradually diminish over time.
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us6000kcrq). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2023, May 18, 2023). M4.8 Earthquake in the Dominican Republic region — May 18, 2023. Retrieved December 26, 2023 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us6000kcrq/