So much has already happened in 2020 and it hasn’t even been a full month yet. Earlier, a major earthquake hit the Caribbean Sea—and it was reportedly so strong that it was felt in Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and Cuba.
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake that occurred in the Caribbean Sea, which was followed by a series of strong aftershocks, shook a large stretch of land from Florida to Mexico. The initial tremor struck at 2:10 PM EST and was centered along 86 miles northwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and 87 miles west-southwest of Niquero, Cuba. Although, the actual depth of the earthquake was pretty shallow at just six miles beneath the surface.
The U.S. Geological Survey initially estimated that the earthquake’s magnitude was 7.3 before upgrading it to 7.7. In addition, the following aftershocks were registered at a magnitude of 6.1. As of right now, there are no reports of immediate damage or injuries. The shaking was so severe in portions of far western Jamaica, that experts were surprised there wasn’t more moderate to heavy damage.
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The earthquake also produced moderate shaking on Grand Cayman Island and light shaking on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, while the Bahamas, Haiti, Honduras and Santiago, Cuba also reported shaking due to the earthquake. Several buildings in Miami were evacuated due to it traveling throughout South Florida.
The last month has been an extremely active period for earthquakes in the Caribbean. The southern part of Puerto Rico experienced a sequence of earthquakes beginning on December 28th with a magnitude 4.7 quake, followed by a magnitude 6.4 aftershock on January 7th, then just a few weeks ago, a magnitude 5.2 occurred on January 15th.
Roommates, what are your thoughts on this?
