October 16, 2003 Earthquake: Moca, Santiago, Dominican Republic
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck Moca, Santiago, Dominican Republic on October 16, 2003 at 03:20:55 UTC, 10 km below the surface.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- October 16, 2003
- Time
- 03:20:55 UTC
- Place
- Moca, Santiago, Dominican Republic
- Magnitude
- 4.5 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 10 km (6 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 19.761° N, 70.693° W
- Country
- Dominican Republic
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses damaged
- Few (about 1 to 50)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Minor damage to buildings at Moca and Santiago. Felt at Jarabacoa, Licey al Medio, Puerto Plata, San Francisco de
Macoris, Santo Domingo and Sosua. (reference #1053)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 7, 1842, Cap-Haitien
- August 4, 1946, Northeastern Coast, Dominican Republic
- August 8, 1946, Northeastern Coast, Dominican Republic
- September 22, 2003, Puerto Plata, Santiago, Dominican Republic
- May 31, 1953, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
- 1783, Santiago DE Los Caballeros, Dominican Republic
- April 20, 1564, Concepcion DE LA Vega, Dominican Republic
- January 30, 1776, W, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic
- 1684, Santo Domingo,azua, Dominican Republic
- October 18, 1751, Azua DE Compostela, Dominican Republic
- December 29, 1897, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- 1691, Azua, Dominican Republic
- April 12, 1793, Santo Domingo (St Domingue), Haiti
- March 1775, Unknown Location, Haiti
- December 18, 1775, Unknown Location, Haiti
More
Significant earthquakes of 2003The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2003Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 5730.