Jamaica, Cuba Hit By Powerful 7.7 Magnitude Earthquake

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A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake hit the Caribbean Sea between Jamaica and eastern Cuba on Tuesday, shaking a vast area from Mexico to Florida and beyond.

It has been recorded as the highest magnitude of earthquake to hit the islands.

The earthquake was centred 139 kilometres northwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and 140 kilometres (87 miles) west-southwest of Niquero, Cuba. It hit at 2:10 p.m. (1910 GMT) and the epicenter was a relatively shallow 10 kilometres beneath the surface.

Dr. Enrique Arango Arias, head of Cuba’s National Seismological Service, told state media that there had been no serious damage or injuries reported.

Belkis Guerrero, who works in a Catholic cultural center in the centre of Santiago said that the earthquake was mainly felt in Santiago, which is the largest city in eastern Cuba.

She Told The Associated Press: “We were all sitting and we felt the chairs move. We heard the noise of everything moving around.

It felt very strong but it doesn’t look like anything happened”

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The earthquake also hit the Cayman Islands, resulting in cracked roads and what appeared to be sewage spilling from cracked mains.

There were no immediate reports of deaths, injuries or more severe damage, said Kevin Morales, editor-in-chief of the Cayman Compass newspaper.

Dr. Stenette Davis, a psychiatrist at a Cayman Islands hospital, said she saw manhole covers blown off by the force of the quake, and sewage exploding into the street, but no more serious damage.

Claude Diedrick, age 71 said: “It felt to me like I was on a bridge and like there were two or three heavy trucks and the bridge was rocking but there were no trucks,”

 

 

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