BROOKLYN, NY – The northwestern end of Trinidad was rattled by an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.0 magnitude on Monday, the Seismic Research Centre (SRC) of the St. Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) has reported.
The quake was recorded approximately 81 kilometers northwest of Port of Spain, with a focal depth of 67 kilometers. It was widely felt from El Socorro to as far west as Chaguaramas.
“Earthquakes in this area are typical for Trinidad and Tobago, with the last felt earthquake occurring just under two weeks ago, a magnitude 4.4 on August 12.
“Generally, across the Eastern Caribbean, a seismically active area, earthquakes of this magnitude, up to magnitude 8.0 and greater, are possible. Seismologists have repeated this statement at the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre for decades,” the SRC said in the statement.
It is said that each year over 2,200 seismic events are recorded in the Eastern Caribbean. On average, the Eastern Caribbean has seen a pattern of major (M7.0-M7.9) quakes every 20 to 30 years. That pattern has stayed true. The last major earthquake occurred north of Martinique in 2007.
Three years ago, on August 21 and August 22, 2018, Trinidad and Tobago were struck by two large earthquakes registering magnitude 6.9 and 5.9, respectively, the largest quakes to strike near Trinidad and Tobago in recent history.
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