BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - CITIZENS across the Eastern Caribbean region are being rattled by earthquakes that continue to jolt the small islands.
On Sunday night (Dec. 3), St. Kitts-Nevis and neighbouring territories were again jolted by magnitude 4 earthquakes that occurred off the coast of Guadeloupe.
The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Center placed the second quake, which occurred at 1:06 a.m., at Latitude 16.8N and Longitude 60.64W with a depth of 31 km.
The 4.1 quake on the Richter Scale was reported in Point-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda, Brades, Montserrat, which was preceded by a magnitude 4.6 on the Richter Scale, and stuck at Latitude 16.71N and Longitude: 60.75W at a depth of 50 km. The same locations were reported as feeling the shaking.
All of this followed last week's shaking which saw seven quakes/tremors being recorded within a 12-hour span. Though there has not been reports of death, it raises concerns about the current state of the region and its preparedness.
In a statement on the quakes last week, the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Center noted that the Lesser Antilles arc - where the quakes have occurred - is a subduction zone setting that experiences thousands of earthquakes on an annual basis.
UWI said that while most of these events are not felt, moderate to significant sized events might impact the region at any time.
“Many of the events occurring overnight have been located in the northeastern section of the arc, in the area known to have generated our largest earthquake, on 08 February, 1843.
“In recent days and months, several areas, from Barbados to far north-east of the arc, have generated moderate to strong earthquakes. Sometimes, such activity signals an even more significant magnitude earthquake, in the short term.
“Larger earthquakes are also a normal part of the earthquake cycle. At this time, however, the science is unable to predict exactly where and when such events would occur. To mitigate the impact, we should always have our preparedness measures in place,” the statement read.
UWI urged all within the region to ensure that they prepare, plan and practice individually, nationally and regionally, since the quake can occur outside the usual zones.
