1946 Dominican Republic earthquake
The Septentrional-Oriente fault zone in the Caribbean and across Hispaniola
1946 Dominican Republic earthquake is located in the Dominican Republic
1946 Dominican Republic earthquake
UTC time1946-08-04 17:51:10
ISC event898498
USGS-ANSSComCat
Local dateAugust 4, 1946 (1946-08-04)
Local time13:51
Magnitude7.8 Mw
8.1 Ms
Depth15.0 km (9.3 mi)[1]
Epicenter19°12′00″N 69°18′58″W / 19.2°N 69.316°W / 19.2; -69.316
Areas affectedDominican Republic
Max. intensityIX (Violent)[2]
Peak acceleration0.4 g (est) [2]
TsunamiYes
Casualties2,550

The 1946 Dominican Republic earthquake occurred on August 4 at 17:51 UTC near Samaná, Dominican Republic. The mainshock measured 7.8 on the moment magnitude scale[3] and 8.1 on the surface wave magnitude scale.[4] An aftershock occurred four days later on August 8 at 13:28 UTC with a moment magnitude of 7.0.[5] A tsunami was generated by the initial earthquake and caused widespread devastation across Hispaniola. The tsunami was observed in much of the Caribbean and the northwestern Atlantic Ocean.[6][7][8][9]

A small tsunami was also recorded by tide gauges at San Juan in Puerto Rico, Bermuda and in the United States at Daytona Beach, Florida and Atlantic City, New Jersey.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ "M 7.8 - 16 km NNW of Miches, Dominican Republic". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b Lynch, Joseph J.; Bodle, Ralph R. (1948), "The Dominican earthquakes of August, 1946", Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 38 (1): 4, 5, Bibcode:1948BuSSA..38....1L, doi:10.1785/BSSA0380010001
  3. ^ "M 7.8 - 16 km NNW of Miches, Dominican Republic". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  4. ^ Dolan, James F. (1998). Paul Mann (ed.). Active Strike-Slip and Collisional Tectonics of the Northern Caribbean Plate Boundary Zone. Geological Society of America. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-8137-2326-6.
  5. ^ "M 7.0 - 24 km NNW of Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Northern Chile Rocked By Earthquake: West Indies Too". Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld. : 1878 - 1954). 6 August 1946. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  7. ^ Historic Earthquakes: Samana, Dominican Republic 1946 Archived 2008-06-02 at the Wayback Machine, USGS, Retrieved June 10, 2008
  8. ^ Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (February 8, 2005). "Major Caribbean Earthquakes And Tsunamis A Real Risk". Science Daily. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
  9. ^ O'Loughlin, Karen Fay; Lander, James F. (2003), Caribbean tsunamis: a 500-year history from 1498–1998, Boston: Kluwer, p. 82, ISBN 978-1-4020-1717-9
  10. ^ Lander, James F.; Lockridge, Patricia A. (1989). United States Tsunamis, (including United States possessions) 1690–1988: Publication 41-2 (PDF). United States Department of Commerce. pp. 219, 220.

Further reading

External links

Earthquakes in the 1940s
Earthquakes in the Caribbean
Authority control databases: National
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