by Bob Duval
[POLO, Dominican Republic] – A magnitude 4.9 earthquake near Polo was reported only 14 minutes ago by the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), considered one of the key international agencies that monitor seismic activity in the Dominican Republic.
“The earthquake got people in Haiti up early in the morning since it was a little bit powerful.”, said Werley Nortreus.
The earthquake occurred at a shallow depth of 10 km beneath the epicenter in the morning on Monday, November 30. 2020 at 7.12 am local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Their monitoring service identified a second report from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) which listed the quake at magnitude 4.6. A third agency, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), reported the same quake at magnitude 4.8.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Polo (pop. 2,100) located 17 km from the epicenter, Cabral (pop. 12,300) 23 km away, Duvergé (pop. 13,400) 26 km away, Fundacion (pop. 2,500) 28 km away, El Peñon (pop. 4,100) 29 km away, Santa Cruz de Barahona (pop. 77,200) 34 km away, San Juan (pop. 73,000) 74 km away, and Bani (pop. 66,700) 116 km away.
