Dionne Rose, Staff Reporter
A resident of Alston, Clarendon, climbs into one of the seven houses damaged by Sunday's earthquake. The tremor, which measured 5.1 in magnitude, was the strongest in Jamaica for more than a decade. - RUDOLPH BROWN/CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
A MODERATE EARTHQUAKE, measuring 5.1 on the Richter Scale, shook the island on Sunday night, leaving two houses destroyed and several others damaged.
The earthquake occurred at 10:58 p.m. The epicentre was located at Aenon Town in northern Clarendon.
According to the Earthquake Unit at the University of the West Indies, the tremor is being attributed to the Rio Minho-Crawle River fault in central Jamaica.
Dr. Margaret Wiggins-Grandison, head of the Earthquake Unit, told The Gleaner that 13 aftershocks were recorded over s five-hour period.
She said that a team from the Earthquake Unit was sent to the area of the epicentre to undertake further assessment. The intensity of the earthquake was between 5 and 6.
With this intensity, Dr. Wiggins-Grandison said glassware can be shattered and items toppled. She explained that an earthquake usually occurs when there is a strain built up in the rocks.
The island has been experiencing high temperatures in recent times but Dr. Wiggins-Grandison pointed out that the weather conditions have no impact on the occurrence of an earthquake.
She, however, noted that it has been a while since the island had an earthquake. "The more time it takes for us to get a major earthquake, the closer we are to a major one. I am just hoping that this 5.1 would have released the pressure," she said.
IMPACT
In the meantime, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) reported that the impact of the earthquake was felt in Clarendon, Manchester and St. Andrew.
The ODPEM said that in Top Alston, Clarendon, one house was totally destroyed and seven structures, including six houses and one church, were damaged. Several households in Silent Hill and Aenon Town in north-west Clarendon were damaged as a result.
In Manchester at Coleyville, close to the Clarendon border, there have been 10 reports of damage. In St. Andrew, a retaining wall collapsed on Paisley Road in Stony Hill as a result of the earthquake's impact.
