Strong Quake Jolts Western Caribbean
Pastor Dale Morgan
Strong Quake Jolts Western Caribbean*
The Associated Press
Sunday, February 4, 2007; 6:20 PM
KINGSTON, Jamaica -- A strong earthquake shook parts of Cuba, Jamaica
and the Cayman Islands on Sunday, authorities said. There were no
immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.1 and was centered in the
Caribbean Sea about 75 miles northwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and 125
miles southwest of Bayamo, Cuba, the U.S. Geological Survey in Colorado
said. It occurred just before 4:00 p.m.
Authorities in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands said no damages or
injuries had been reported.
"We consider it a strong earthquake," said USGS geophysicist Bruce
Presgrave. "It's enough off the coast that I would not expect any major
damage, (though) there's a possibility of some minor damage."
Presgrave said tremors are relatively common in the area, which lies on
the boundary between two tectonic plates.
No tsunami warnings were issued for the Caribbean and no tsunami
activity was observed in the region, said Stuart Weinstein, assistant
director of the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
Margaret Grandison of the University of the West Indies' seismic unit
said the quake was felt the strongest in Jamaica's west end and nearly
all of the country's parishes have reported feeling it.
"My children were upstairs and I thought they were playing," said Lloyd
Hill, who lives in Hanover parish located some 160 miles west of the
Jamaican capital, Kingston. "When we ran outside, we saw some neighbors
and they were obviously shaken."