Magnitude 5.7 Earthquake Hits Near Dominican Republic Following Haiti Tremor

A 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck early Tuesday off the southeastern coast of the Dominican Republic, rattling residents across the Caribbean, including in neighboring Puerto Rico.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported the quake occurred at 4:28 a.m. local time, about 38 kilometers (24 miles) southeast of Boca de Yuma, at a depth of 168 kilometers (104 miles). Despite the early morning jolt, no injuries or damage have been reported.

The region lies along the boundary where the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates meet, making it highly prone to seismic activity.

Late Monday, a separate 4.1 magnitude earthquake struck near Port-au-Prince, Haiti, at a shallow depth of 5 kilometers (3 miles), according to Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency. That tremor was widely felt in the capital and surrounding areas, but no damage has been reported.

Haiti, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, has a history of devastating quakes. In August 2021, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake killed more than 2,000 people.

The 2010 earthquake, which measured 7.0, claimed over 200,000 lives and displaced more than a million.

Seismologists continue to monitor the region closely due to its vulnerability to powerful tectonic events.