ST JOHN’s – Residents across Antigua and Barbuda have been describing scenes after a powerful earthquake struck northeast of the country yesterday morning.
According to the Seismic Research Centre (SRC) of the University of the West Indies, the earthquake occurred at a depth of 31 kilometres.
Preliminary data placed the epicentre at latitude 17.39 north and longitude 61.18 west, approximately 80 kilometres northeast.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or major damage, although residents across several communities reported strong shaking.
Other countries that felt the tremor were the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, St Martin, Sint Maarten, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat, St Lucia, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, US Virgin Islands, Venezuela, Caribbean Netherlands, Saint Barthélemy and Anguilla.
The eastern Caribbean experiences frequent seismic activity because the region lies near the boundary of the Caribbean and North American tectonic plates. (CMC)
