Strong earthquake jolts Caribbean island-nations

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.2 rocked several Caribbean countries earlier this week as countries in the region were being urged to continue monitoring the situation in Puerto Rico where 2 strong earthquakes have been blamed for the death of 1 man and damage to several buildings.

The Trinidad & Tobago-based Seismic Research Center (SRC) of The University of the West Indies (UWI) said that the quake occurred at 10.01 am (local time) and was located Latitude: 15.18N; Longitude: 61.22W and at a depth of 123 kilometers (76 miles).

The SRC said that the quake was felt 23 kilometers (14 miles) south-east of Roseau in Dominica, as well as 66 kilometers (41 miles) north-northwest of Fort-de-France, the capital of the French island of Martinique, and 124 kilometers (77 miles) south-southeast of Point-à-Pitre, the capital of Guadeloupe.

The SRC said there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage and the Barbados-based Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) joined the SRC in urging Caribbean countries to monitor the situation in Puerto Rico.

CDEMA said it was advising member states “to continue to monitor the situation in Puerto Rico and to be guided by the alerts received from their respective NTWCs (National Tsunami Warning Centers) and by the established protocols outlined in their respective tsunami and coastal hazard plans.”

It said that together with the Regional Response Mechanism Partners, they will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates if the situation warrants.

On Tuesday, SRC said that the recent earthquakes in Puerto Rico should serve as a reminder to the Caribbean “that our region is seismically active and we always need to be prepared.”

On Monday, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.7 rocked Puerto Rico and it was followed by a stronger quake with a magnitude of 6.4 on Tuesday. The SRC said that Monday’s quake was a “foreshock” to the quake on Tuesday.

The US Geological Survey said the quake also affected several other countries, including The Bahamas; British Virgin Islands; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Saint Martin; Sint Maarten; Guadeloupe; Haiti; Montserrat; Puerto Rico; St. Kitts & Nevis; Turks & Caicos Islands, and the US Virgin Islands.-(CMC)