Massive 4.1 magnitude earthquake shakes parts of Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago: A 4.1 magnitude earthquake was felt across various communities of Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday afternoon. According to the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre (UWI-SRC), the natural disaster took place at around 4:19 pm local time on June 24. It was recorded at a depth of 13 kilometres in the waters between Trinidad and Grenada.

The preliminary information given by UWI-SRC revealed that the epicentre was approximately 68 km south-east of Port of Spain, 84 km south-east of Arima and 94 km north of St. George’s, Grenada.

Social media saw a rush of posts from residents sharing their experience of feeling brief tremors, while reaching out to see if others had the same experience. It was a short but very noticeable shake.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, deaths, or damages to infrastructure. Seismic activity of such magnitudes are usually considered minor to light and do not cause any significant damage.

Several people living in areas near the centre felt the brief tremors, while people away from the epicentre reported not feeling any tremors.

Trinidad and Tobago is located in a seismically active zone in the Caribbean and experiences occasional earthquakes of different magnitudes from time to time as a result of the tectonic activity.

The United States Geological Survey has recorded another earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 in Venezuela around 6:04 pm local time, which was immediately followed by an even stronger earthquake of 7.5 magnitude. This caused great structural damage in Caracas and neighbouring areas.

The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre (UWI-SRC) assured the residents that “there is NO tsunami threat for Trinidad and Tobago at this time following the magnitude 7.1 and 7.5 events off the coast of Venezuela.”