Septentrional Fault Zone
Hispaniola · continental transform · 2891.7 km of mapped active fault in 11 traces
background as of 7 November 2026.
consistent with baseline
| Window | the last 30.0 days |
|---|---|
| Earthquakes counted | 0 at M4.5 or above |
| Expected in that window | 0.13 |
What this system normally does
From 1995 to 2025 the catalogue holds 48 earthquakes of M4.5 or larger attributable to this system: about 1.60 a year. That figure is what "elevated" on this page is measured against.
The fault itself
| Mapped length | 2891.7 km |
|---|---|
| Traces | 11 |
| Tectonic setting | continental transform |
| Slip types | Sinistral, Sinistral-Normal, Reverse-Sinistral |
| Depth attributed to it | down to 50.0 km |
| Extent | 19.16 to 20.45 latitude, -73.57 to -67.64 longitude |
Recorded history
NOAA's hazard records hold 6 significant earthquakes and 3 tsunamis attributed to this system since 1842.
The deadliest was the 7 May 1842 magnitude 8.0 earthquake (Haiti: Cap-haitien), which killed 5,300 people.
The most recent entry is the 16 October 2003 magnitude 4.5 earthquake (Dominican Republic: Moca, Santiago).
Across the entries that record a death toll, 7,168 people died.
| Date | What | Where | Toll |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 May 1842 | magnitude 8.0 earthquake | Haiti: Cap-haitien | 5,300 dead, damage over $25 million |
| 7 May 1842 | tsunami (waves to 5 m) | Cap-haitian | 5,300 dead, damage over $25 million |
| 4 August 1946 | magnitude 7.9 earthquake | Dominican Republic: Northeastern Coast | 1,790 dead, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 4 August 1946 | tsunami (waves to 5 m) | Northeastern Coast | 1,790 dead, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 8 August 1946 | magnitude 7.5 earthquake | Dominican Republic: Northeastern Coast | 75 dead |
| 8 August 1946 | tsunami (waves to 0.6 m) | Northeastern Coast | 75 dead |
| 22 September 2003 | magnitude 6.4 earthquake | Dominican Republic: Puerto Plata, Santiago | 3 dead, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 31 May 1953 | magnitude 7.2 earthquake | Dominican Republic: Puerto Plata | - |
| 16 October 2003 | magnitude 4.5 earthquake | Dominican Republic: Moca, Santiago | damage under $1 million |
A dash means NOAA recorded no number, not that nobody died. Older entries are fewer because fewer were written down, not because less happened.
Recorded history: NOAA NCEI hazard databases, public domain, retrieved 2026-10-22.
Where these numbers come from
Fault geometry, length and segment counts: GEM Global Active Faults Database (GEM GAF-DB), GEM Foundation, https://github.com/GEMScienceTools/gem-global-active-faults Licence: CC-BY-SA-4.0. Figures derived from it here are offered under the same licence. Earthquake counts, magnitudes and depths: United States Geological Survey, public domain. The activity judgement is ours, computed from those two inputs, and is not a statement by either agency.