Magnitude 5.8 - PUERTO RICO

2010 May 16 05:16:10 UTC

Earthquake Details

Magnitude 5.8
Date-Time
Location 18.400°N, 67.070°W
Depth 113 km (70.2 miles)
Region PUERTO RICO
Distances
  • 5 km (3 miles) E (82°) from Moca, PR
  • 5 km (3 miles) S (184°) from Aceitunas, PR
  • 7 km (4 miles) NW (323°) from Hato Arriba, PR
  • 64 km (40 miles) NW (312°) from Ponce, PR
  • 99 km (62 miles) W (265°) from SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 1.7 km (1.1 miles); depth +/- 1 km (0.6 miles)
Parameters NST= 31, Nph= 31, Dmin=8.6 km, Rmss=0.27 sec, Gp=104°,
M-type=regional moment magnitude (Mw), Version=5
Source
Event ID pr10136002
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Earthquake Summary

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Earthquake Summary Poster

Felt Reports

Minor damage to homes at Lares and Vega Baja. A landslide was reported at Utuado. Felt (V) at Adjuntas, Aguada, Anasco, Barranquitas, Jayuya, Lares, Las Marias, Maricao, Mayaguez, Moca, Morovis, Orocovis, Ponce, San German, San Sebastian, Utuado and Villalba. Widely felt in Puerto Rico and the eastern Dominican Republic. Also felt in the Virgin Islands.

Tectonic Summary

The Puerto Rico earthquake of May 16, 2010, occurred in an inclined seismic zone that dips south from the Puerto Rico Trench and that consists of subducted lithosphere of the North America plate. The broad-scale tectonics of the Puerto Rico region are determined by the motion of the Caribbean plate east-northeast at a velocity of about 20 mm/yr with respect to the North America plate. The North America plate is thrust beneath the Caribbean plate at the Puerto Rico Trench, and is seismically active to depths of about 150 km.

Earthquakes, such as this one, that have focal-depths between 70 and 300 km are commonly termed "intermediate-depth" earthquakes. Intermediate-depth earthquakes typically cause less damage on the ground surface above their foci than is the case with similar magnitude shallow-focus earthquakes, but large intermediate-depth earthquakes may be felt at great distance from their epicenters.

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Tsunami Information

The earthquake locations and magnitudes cited in NOAA tsunami statements and bulletins are preliminary and are superseded by USGS locations and magnitudes computed using more extensive data sets.

NOAA Tsunami Bulletins for this Earthquake

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