Earthquake

[Paul Tallet]

5.8 Magnitude Earthquake about 22 kms south west of Scarborough at about 21.30, 6th December ... a little deep at 40+ kms.

Did anyone feel it?

Update ... 3 Earthquakes between 4.2 and 5.8.

Regards

[Ronald]

Hi Paul,

Yes it was for sure felt! There´s pictures in the papers (first digital one came almost at once yesterday) showing pictures from different supermarkets with a lot of items on the floor!

You say west of Scarborough, but digital papers yesterday evening did point out an area south-east of Scarborough, outside the harbour area. Maybe there was more than one into different areas?

I´m in Trinidad, Arima, and I can tell that the ground was moving forth-back during that time, no real sound but the movmnt of the ground was quite big. Places in north Trinidad was also hit in the same way as in Tobago, a lot of canned food a.s.o. on the floor. It will be interesting thing to read the paper today, hopefully no older houses was destroyed in Tobago.

I was working on my computer so I switched off at once. But the house didn´t get any crack and electric/water did not switch off.

I´ve been into harder earth quakes when I was working into a steel plant in Greece, so I´d know what happens. But sometimes peoples die of the shock and not of destroyed houses, that did happens when I was in Halyvourgiki.

[Ronald]

Hi again,

I had a quick look at the digital papers, and they say it was felt also i Port of Spain. Peopleds started to wrie "teh end is here" on Internet, but it´s not that bad! There are a lot of pictures in the papers so I guess you will see/hear more of this!
I don´t see any picture from Tobago, but one picture is from a hotel in PoS and show parts of a corridor got a bad hit, cleaning/repair is needed.

From the paper "As of daybreak today, the UWI's Seismic research Centre recorded two aftershocks, a 4.4 magnitude quake at 11.38p.m. 27 kilometres northwest of Scarborough, Tobago, and a magnitude 4.9 quake 15 kilometres west of Scarborough at 12.24a.m. No damage was reported and the shaking were felt by some across Tobago and north Trinidad."
So it seems that the quake wasn´t into only one area, it was on several places around Tobago.

[Paul Tallet]

Hello Ronald

It sounds like nobody got hurt ... the local media are reporting a 6.2 which could be an exaggeration according to the USGS.

Regards

[Ronald]

Hi Paul,

Yes correct, there´s different numbers in the papers, so it´s difficult to know which they mean.

So far according to news, none is hurt becuse of the earthquake, they have been writing a lot about that. Same strong ones in Haiti and on other places in Asia did destroy many houses and killed peoples.
The papers did explain for peoples, that it´s not ONLY the strong earthquake itself that kill and destroy, it´s also because of old-bad types of houses, bad constructions, and also because of the ground itself. A "bad" ground can make the earthquake stronger compared with a ground wich is mostly rocks.

And also, how people react when it happens is also a fact. I was working into a steel plant (rewamping of a hot strip mill) in Halyvourgiki Greece in the beginning of 90´s when we had a strong eathquake there. Three peoples was killed in the town; one in the bed when his old house did break down over him, one by an hearth attack, one was walking beside a high building when a glaas did fell down from a window and almost cut him into two peces!