The 2003 Dominican Republic earthquake occurred on September 22 at with a
moment magnitude of 6.4 and a maximum
Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme'').
Earthquake
The shock occurred on the northern coast of the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...
near the town of
Luperon,
Puerto Plata and north of the city of
Santiago de los Caballeros. This earthquake could also be felt in
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...
,
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
and western
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
.
Research indicated that it was one of a series of westward-propagating earthquakes along the boundary between the
North American Plate
The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Cuba, the Bahamas, extreme northeastern Asia, and parts of Iceland and the Azores. With an area of , it is the Earth's second largest tectonic plate, behind the Pacific ...
and the
Caribbean Plate
The Caribbean Plate is a mostly oceanic tectonic plate underlying Central America and the Caribbean Sea off the north coast of South America.
Roughly 3.2 million square kilometers (1.2 million square miles) in area, the Caribbean Plate borders ...
.
Damage and casualties
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
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
, 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.
See also
*
Gonâve Microplate Gonave may refer to:
*Gulf of Gonâve
*Gonâve Island
*Gonâve Microplate See also
*Gonaïves
Gonaïves (; ht, Gonayiv, ) is a commune in northern Haiti, and the capital of the Artibonite department of Haiti. It has a population of about 300,00 ...
*
List of earthquakes in 2003
This is a list of earthquakes in 2003. Only earthquakes of magnitude 6 or above are included, unless they result in damage and/or casualties, or are notable for some other reason. All dates are listed according to UTC (Coordinated Universal Tim ...
*
List of earthquakes in the Dominican Republic
This is a list of earthquakes in the Dominican Republic
Earthquakes
See also
* List of earthquakes in Haiti
* List of earthquakes in Puerto Rico
References
{{reflist
Dominican Republic
Earthquakes in the Dominican Republic
Earthquakes
Ea ...
*
List of earthquakes in the Caribbean
Major earthquakes in the Caribbean are infrequent and are sometimes accompanied by tsunami.
Earthquakes
See also
*List of earthquakes in Cuba
*List of earthquakes in the Dominican Republic
*List of earthquakes in Haiti
*List of earthquakes in ...
*
Septentrional-Oriente fault zone
References
Sources
*
External links
*
Earthquakes in the Dominican Republic
2003 in the Dominican Republic
2003 earthquakes
{{NorthAm-earthquake-stub