September 22, 2003 Earthquake: Puerto Plata, Santiago, Dominican Republic
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Puerto Plata, Santiago, Dominican Republic on September 22, 2003 at 04:45:36 UTC, 10 km below the surface. It killed 3 people.
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
- September 22, 2003
- Time
- 04:45:36 UTC
- Place
- Puerto Plata, Santiago, Dominican Republic
- Magnitude
- 6.4 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 10 km (6 mi)
- Intensity
- 10 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 19.777° N, 70.673° W
- Country
- Dominican Republic
The toll
- Deaths
- 3
- Injuries
- 15
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
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.
One person killed at Puerto Plata, two people died of heart attacks at San Francisco de Macoris and 15 people injured in the Puerto Plata-Santiago area. Many buildings destroyed
or damaged at Puerto Plata, San Francisco de Macoris and Santiago. Landslides occurred along several highways in the epicentral area. Maximum intensity X. Felt (VI) at Santo Domingo. Felt throughout the Dominican Republic. Felt (V) in western Puerto Rico. Also felt at Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (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
- October 16, 2003, Moca, 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
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 5723.