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 and 8.1 on the surface wave magnitude scale. An aftershock occurred four days later on August 8 at 13:28 UTC with a moment magnitude of 7.0. 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.
 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 |
| Local time | 13:51 |
| Magnitude | 7.8 Mw 8.1 Ms |
| Depth | 15.0 km (9.3 mi) |
| Epicenter | 19°12′00″N 69°18′58″W / 19.2°N 69.316°W |
| Areas affected | Dominican Republic |
| Max. intensity | MMI IX (Violent) |
| Peak acceleration | 0.4 g (est) |
| 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.
See also
References
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.