Above: a map of the quake (graphic: United States Geological Survey)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The northern Dominican Republic was lightly shaken by a 4.5-magnitude earthquake on Sunday evening, according to the United States Geological Survey.

It struck at around 9:01 PM local time.

The epicentre of the quake, which occurred at a depth of 10 kilometres, was around 6 kilometres west-northwest of Estero Hondo in the Dominican Republic and about 179 kilometres south of Cockburn Town in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

There were no reports of damage or injuries due to the quake, which was the latest in a series of moderate to strong quakes in what is a seismically active part of the Caribbean.

Most of the reports of shaking focused on the area near Santiago in the north of the country, according to the USGS.

The quake came just a few days after a 5.8-magnitude earthquake shook the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico last week.