A 5.4 magnitude earthquake struck Jamaica on Monday, causing people to evacuate buildings due to heavy shaking. However, there were no reports of serious damage, although some minor damage to buildings and items falling off shelves in grocery stores were reported. The earthquake’s epicenter was located around 2 miles west-northwest of Hope Bay in northeastern Jamaica and occurred at a shallow depth of 6 miles.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness assured the public that there were no deaths, injuries, or severe damage. He urged Jamaicans to remain calm and stay in safe places in case of aftershocks. The earthquake temporarily caused power outages and disrupted phone services in certain areas. Holness expressed gratitude that the situation wasn’t worse.
The Jamaica Constabulary Force stated that the earthquake knocked traffic lights offline and dispatched police officers to intersections. The tremor caused panic attacks among some individuals, leading them to rush to hospitals for treatment. The earthquake also impacted the UN’s International Seabed Authority meeting, as participants could be seen fleeing on camera before the broadcast was cut off. The meeting was later postponed due to the emotional impact of the tremor.
During the earthquake, journalist Cliff Hughes, CEO of Nationwide News Network, was on the air in Jamaica and calmly reported the situation. As the shaking intensified, he sought shelter under a desk as the lights flickered off.
Though small earthquakes are common in Jamaica, strong ones are rare. Significant earthquakes in Jamaica’s history include the devastating Port Royal earthquake in 1692, the quake in Kingston in 1907 that resulted in over 1,000 deaths, and another major quake in western Jamaica in March 1957.
Jamaica sits on the Enriquillo–Plantain Garden fault zone, along with Haiti and the Dominican Republic, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.