Magnitude 5.8 - PUERTO RICO

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2010 May 16 05:16:10 UTC

Earthquake Details

This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.

Magnitude	5.8
Date-Time	Sunday, May 16, 2010 at 05:16:10 UTC Sunday, May 16, 2010 at 01:16:10 AM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location	18.400°N, 67.070°W
Depth	113 km (70.2 miles)
Region	PUERTO RICO
Distances	20 km (15 miles) NNE of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico 40 km (25 miles) WSW of Arecibo, Puerto Rico 100 km (60 miles) W of SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico 305 km (190 miles) E of SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic
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	Puerto Rico Seismic Network, University of Puerto Rico
Event ID	pr10136002

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Earthquake Summary

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.

Earthquake Maps

Scientific & Technical Information

Preliminary Earthquake Report
Puerto Rico Seismic Network, University of Puerto Rico