5.7-magnitude earthquake strikes off Dominican Republic coast, causes minor damage

The earthquake caused minor damage and power outages in neighbouring Puerto Rico, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), with the tremor recording 48 miles north-northeast of Punta Cana, at a depth of 42 miles beneath the earth’s surface.

In a statement, the USGS confirmed: “At least a dozen aftershocks have occurred since then.”

Officials in Puerto Rico reported that several neighbourhoods in the northwest town of Utuado were left without electricity following the quake.

The USGS notes that both Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic lie within a region of heightened seismic activity, where the North American plate converges with the northeastern edge of the Caribbean plate.