Caribbean countries jolted by two earthquakes within six hours

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

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

The SRC said that the quake occurred late on Sunday night at 9:40 p.m local time and was located at Latitude: 15.08 north, Longitude: 60.30 west and at a depth of 10 kilometres.

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

The second quake with a magnitude of 3.3 occurred at 3: 35 a.m local time Monday and was located at Latitude: 12.29 north, Longitude: 61.65 west and at a depth: 5 kilometres.

The quake was felt 28 kilometres northeast of St George’s, Grenada, 107 kilometres south-west of Kingstown, St.Vincent and the Grenadines and 159 kilometres northwest of Scarborough in Trinidad and Tobago.

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

The SRC has been warning regional countries to be prepared for a major quake.

Last month Trinidad and Tobago recorded an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 which caused widespread infrastructural damage to several buildings.

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