Earthquake Causes Shaking in St Martin, St Barth, Anguilla, Puerto Rico

Above: a map of the quake (graphic: United States Geological Survey)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

A 5.0-magnitude earthquake caused shaking across the northeastern Caribbean on Saturday afternoon, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The earthquake’s epicentre was about 36 kilometres east-northeast of St Barth and about 77 kilometres north-northeast of Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis.

It was about 209 kilometres north-northwest of Lamentin in Guadeloupe and struck at a depth of 52 kilometres at 15:31 local time in St Barth.

There were also reports of shaking in nearby Anguilla and in Antigua and St Kitts, although shaking was felt as far away as Maunabo in Puerto Rico.

The quake was the latest in an increasingly active Western Hemisphere.

It was the strongest in the Caribbean basin since a 5.0-magnitude quake caused shaking in Colombia and Venezuela in the middle of March, according to the USGS.

There were not yet any reports of damage or injuries.