1946 Dominican Republic earthquake

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]

1946 Dominican Republic earthquake

The Septentrional-Oriente fault zone in the Caribbean and across Hispaniola
UTC time	1946-08-04 17:51:10
ISC event	898498
USGS-ANSS	ComCat
Local date	August 4, 1946 (1946-08-04)
Local time	13:51
Magnitude	7.8 Mw 8.1 Ms
Depth	15.0 km (9.3 mi)[1]
Epicenter	19°12′00″N 69°18′58″W
Areas affected	Dominican Republic
Max. intensity	MMI IX (Violent)[2]
Peak acceleration	0.4 g (est) [2]
Tsunami	Yes
Casualties	2,550

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

• List of earthquakes in 1946
• List of earthquakes in the Dominican Republic
• List of earthquakes in the Caribbean

References

1. "M 7.8 - 16 km NNW of Miches, Dominican Republic". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
2. 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

• Small, Walter M. (1948), "A short description of the general geology of the Dominican Republic, with notes on the earthquake of August 4, 1946", Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 38 (1): 19–32, Bibcode:1948BuSSA..38...19S, doi:10.1785/BSSA0380010019

External links

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