Santo Domingo.- Early Monday morning, a 4.6-magnitude earthquake shook Santo Domingo, with its epicenter located north of Bayaguana in Monte Plata, according to the National Seismology Center of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD). The tremor was recorded at 5:27 a.m.

Just minutes earlier, at 5:15 a.m., another quake of 3.3 magnitude was reported in Punta Cana, also felt in neighboring Puerto Rico.

Experts explain that earthquakes occur due to the sudden release of energy inside the Earth, most commonly caused by the movement of tectonic plates along fault zones where they collide or slide past each other.