Caribbean countries jolted by two earthquakes within a six-hour period

CARRIBEAN: Several Caribbean countries were rattled as two earthquakes hit the region within a six-hour period, said the Trinidad-based Seismic Research Centre (SRC) of the St Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI).

In the first instance, the Seismic Research Centre (SRC) said that a quake with a magnitude of 4.0 was felt in the French island of Martinique, Dominica and St Lucia.

The Seismic Research Centre (SRC) said that the quake occurred at 9:40 pm (local time) Sunday and was located at Latitude: 15.08 north, Longitude: 60.30 west and at a depth of 10 kilometres (km).

It said that the quake was felt 101 km north east of Fort-de-France, Martinique, 123 km east south east of Roseau, Dominica and 139 km north east of Castries, St Lucia.

The second quake, with a magnitude of 3.3, occurred at 3:35 am (local time) on Monday and was located at Latitude: 12.29 north, Longitude: 61.65 west and at a depth of five kilometres.

The quake was felt 28 km north east of St George’s, Grenada, 107 km south west of Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines and 159 km North West of Scarborough in Trinidad and Tobago

The SRC said there were no immediate reports of injuries or damages caused by the two earthquakes, the latest in a series of earth tremors felt in several Caribbean countries.

The SRC have been warning regional countries to be prepared for a major quake. It has asked countries to be ready to tackle natural calamities and take preventive steps to tackle the situation in advance.

Last month Trinidad and Tobago recorded an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 causing widespread infrastructural damage to several buildings. The quake rattled the region causing severe damage to commercial and private buildings as well as property.

The SRC earlier noted, however, that the first major quake in 50 years (6.9 earthquake) leaves room for major aftershocks and as such, households should be prepared.