2003 Dominican Republic earthquake

Santo Domingo

Santiago

UTC time| 2003-09-22 04:45:36
ISC event| 7131995
USGS-ANSS| ComCat
Local date| September 22, 2003
Local time| 00:45:37
Magnitude| 6.4 Mw[1]
Depth| 14 km (9 mi)[1]
Epicenter| 19°43′N 70°41′W﻿ / ﻿19.72°N 70.69°W﻿ / 19.72; -70.69[1]
Type| Thrust[2]
Areas affected| Dominican Republic
Max. intensity| MMI X (Extreme)[2]
Aftershocks| 5.6 Mw Sept 22 at 05:30[3]
Casualties| 3 dead, dozens injured[4]

The 2003 Dominican Republic earthquake occurred on September 22 at 00:45:37 local time with a moment magnitude of 6.4 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme).

## Earthquake

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The shock occurred on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic near the town of Luperon, Puerto Plata and 40 miles (64 km) north of the city of Santiago de los Caballeros. This earthquake could also be felt in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and western Puerto Rico.[2] [5] Research indicated that it was one of a series of westward-propagating earthquakes along the boundary between the North American plate and the Caribbean plate.[6]

## Damage and casualties

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The tremor damaged many buildings across the city of Puerto Plata, the city closest to the epicenter, including two schools. There, a wall collapsed caused vehicular traffic and schools were damaged. In Santiago, several schools were damaged and the airport there was temporarily closed, but was made operational again afterwards. Two hospitals there were evacuated but there was no structural damage and the patients were able to go back indoors. In Nagua, schools were damaged in the form of cracks and walls and floors, and a roof of a local hospital collapsed. In the towns of San Cristobal and Cotui, light damage to schools was reported. It caused three fatalities, two of which suffered heart attacks. Dozens were also injured.[4]

## See also

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* Gonâve microplate
* List of earthquakes in 2003
* List of earthquakes in the Dominican Republic
* List of earthquakes in the Caribbean
* Septentrional-Oriente fault zone

## References

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1. ^ a b c ISC (2015), ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900–2009), Version 2.0, International Seismological Centre
2. ^ a b c "M6.4 – Dominican Republic". United States Geological Survey.
3. ^ PAGER-CAT Earthquake Catalog, Version 2008_06.1, United States Geological Survey, September 4, 2009, archived from the original on 2020-03-13
4. ^ a b "Dominican Republic: Earthquake – Information Bulletin n° 1". ReliefWeb. September 22, 2003. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
5. ^ "Terremoto en República Dominicana – 2003-09-22". vozdeamerica.com (in Spanish). 22 September 2003. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
6. ^ Dolan, J. F.; Bowman, D. D. (2004), "Tectonic and Seismologic Setting of the 22 September 2003, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic Earthquake: Implications for Earthquake Hazard in Northern Hispaniola", Seismological Research Letters, 75 (5), Seismological Society of America: 587–597, doi:10.1785/gssrl.75.5.587587-597&rft.date=2004&rft_id=info:doi/10.1785/gssrl.75.5.587&rft.aulast=Dolan&rft.aufirst=J.+F.&rft.au=Bowman,+D.+D.&rft_id=http://srl.geoscienceworld.org/content/75/5/587.extract&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:2003+Dominican+Republic+earthquake" class="Z3988">

Sources

* López Rodríguez, R. R.; Martínez Cruzado, J. A. (2003), "Daños observados en Puerro Plata, República Dominicana, causados por el terremoto del 22 de Septiembre de 2003", Revista Internacional de Desastres Naturales, Accidentes e Infraestructura Civil, 3 (2): 189–204189-204&rft.date=2003&rft.aulast=López+Rodríguez&rft.aufirst=R.+R.&rft.au=Martínez+Cruzado,+J.+A.&rft_id=http://academic.uprm.edu/laccei/index.php/RIDNAIC/article/view/70/70&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:2003+Dominican+Republic+earthquake" class="Z3988">

## External links

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* The International Seismological Centre has a bibliography and/or authoritative data for this event.

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← Earthquakes in 2003 →

January|

* Colima (7.5, Jan 21)

February|

* Bachu (6.3, Feb 24) †

April|

* Alabama (4.6, Apr 29)

May|

* Bingöl (6.4, May 1) †
* Boumerdès (6.8, May 21) †
* Miyagi (7.1, May 26)

July|

* Dayao (5.9, July 21)
* Miyagi (6.4, July 26)

August|

* Fiordland (7.2, Aug 22)

September|

* Dominican Republic (6.4, Sep 22)
* Hokkaidō (8.3, Sep 25)
* Altai Republic (7.3, Sep 27)

December|

* Kazakhstan-China (6.1, Dec 1)
* Taiwan (6.8, Dec 10)
* San Simeon (6.6, Dec 22)
* Puerto Armuelles (6.5, Dec 25)
* Bam (6.6, Dec 26) † ‡

† earthquakes resulting in at least 30 deaths
‡ the deadliest earthquake of the year

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Earthquakes in the Caribbean

Historical|

* 1641 Caracas (6.5)
* 1692 Jamaica (7.5)
* 1751 Port-au-Prince (8.0)
* 1766 Southeastern Caribbean (6.5–7.5)
* 1770 Port-au-Prince (7.5)
* 1787 Boricua (8.0)
* 1812 Caracas (7.5)
* 1839 Martinique (8.0)
* 1842 Cap-Haïtien (8.1)
* 1843 Guadeloupe (8.5)
* 1867 Virgin Islands (7.5)
* 1875 Cúcuta (7.5)

20th century|

* 1900 Venezuela (7.7)
* 1907 Kingston (6.5)
* 1918 San Fermín (7.1)
* 1929 Cumaná (6.9)
* 1946 Dominican Republic (8.1)
* 1967 Caracas (6.7)
* 1974 Lesser Antilles (6.9)
* 1984 San Pedro Basin (6.7)
* 1997 Cariaco (6.9)

21st century|

* 2003 Dominican Republic (6.4)
* 2004 Les Saintes (6.3)
* 2007 Martinique (7.4)
* 2009 Swan Islands (7.3)
* 2010 Haiti (7.0)
* 2018 Swan Islands (7.5)
* 2018 Venezuela (7.3)
* 2018 Haiti (5.9)
* 2019–20 Puerto Rico (6.4)
* 2020 Caribbean (7.7)
* 2021 Haiti (7.2)
* 2024 Cuba (6.8)
* 2025 Caribbean (7.6)

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