The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reports a 5.3 magnitude earthquake was felt strongest in the northern Samana region. The quake was in the early morning of 26 December 2023 and was felt lightly in Santo Domingo
This is the second strong earthquake in the same northeastern region. On 22 December, a quake of magnitude 5.4 was reported in the southern part of Samana province nearer to Miches in El Seibo province.
In either of the cases, there were no reports of damage or injuries.
Locally, the authorities at the Centro Nacional de Sismología de la Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo reported a quake of magnitude 5.1 with epicenter in Miches. As reported in Diario Libre, there have been 11 smaller quakes in the same area since Friday, 22 December to 26 December 2023.
Dominican geologist Osiris de León called for people to be on guard. He explained that in the area north of Miches and south of Samana there are two faults: the North Hispaniola, which is the limit between the North American tectonic plate and the Caribbean tectonic plate, and to the south, the Northern fault that passes through Sánchez, Samaná and Samaná Bay.
“The greatest number of earthquakes in the last 72 hours has been concentrated at the tectonic plate boundary, which is an area of great consideration because in 1946 the largest earthquake recorded in the region occurred there, with a magnitude of 8.1, which generated a devastating tsunami in Matanzas and Sabana de la Mar, and an aftershock, 4 days later, of magnitude 7.6 that knocked down what was left weak with the earthquake 4 days before. It was a very dramatic situation on 4 August 1946,” De Leon stated.
Read more:
USGS
Crisis 24
El Dia
Diario Libre
27 December 2023