An earthquake measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale hit several provinces of the Cibao region as well as the Puerto Plata area at 3:58pm yesterday, Wednesday 18 February 2015. Fabricio Moquete of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) Seismological Institute said that the earthquake was located to the north of Santiago and was felt in La Vega, Puerto Plata and other provinces of the Cibao region. In Santiago many people left their offices and some students at the Pontifical Catholic University Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) left their classroom buildings.
According to Diario Libre, Civil Defense will be assessing buildings and other structures in order to establish whether the earthquake caused any structural damage. Deputy director Francisco Arias said that so far no human or material damage has been reported in Santiago. The Civil Defense official said that the structures that will be examined included hospitals, primary schools, high schools and other public buildings.
The UASD Seismological Institute reported the depth at 8km. According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake occurred 10km from Pedro Garcia in the province of Santiago, 12km from Puerto Plata, 22km from Tamboril and 148km to the northeast of Santo Domingo.