Powerful earthquake in Venezuela sends shockwaves to Trinidad and Tobago
Buildings in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas were evacuated on Tuesday after a powerful earthquake was recorded off the North-East coast of the country, sending shockwaves as far West as Bogotá, Colombia, and as far East as Trinidad and Tobago.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said a 7.3-magnitude quake struck 12 miles North-west of Yaguaraparo, Venezuela. The USGS recorded its depth to be 76 miles.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said at 18:00h, there was no threat of a
Parts of a building collapsed on a parked car in Trinidad
tsunami as a result of the earthquake, after a preliminary report that “hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 300 km of the earthquake epicentre.”
The earthquake was also felt strongly in Trinidad and Tobago, and much of the eastern Caribbean, including Grenada, Guyana, Barbados and as far North as St Lucia. There were no reports of damages in Grenada and Guyana, where people ran into the streets in pandemonium to see utility poles shaking. In Grenada, there was a report of a landslide.
The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre reported that there were at least seven aftershocks from the earthquake, about one every three minutes.
The Trinidad Express reported that the country was “stunned” by the quake as residents fled their homes.
“That was so scary,” Vaughn Ramdeen, who lives in Arima, Trinidad, tweeted. “Couldn’t do anything but remain in one spot. Still trembling. The house was shaking like crazy. We ran out. Thankfully there are no power lines so didn’t have to worry about anything falling on us. It lasted about a minute.”
Electricity and telephone outages were reported in some parts of Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago’s capital. Videos circulating on social media showed
Residents stand outside their apartments as some look up at the Tower of David skyscraper following the earthquake on Tuesday
groceries falling off store shelves, buildings with cracks, and a piece of a mountain in Chaguaramas along Trinidad’s North-west peninsula falling into the ocean.
There were no immediate reports of casualties as the country waited to hear from disaster and preparedness workers who fanned out across the country to provide a report.
The Associated Press reported that the earthquake briefly interrupted a pro-Government rally in Venezuela. State television captured the frantic moments after the quake when Diosadado Cabello, the head of Venezuela’s constitutional assembly, was giving a speech at the
A road destroyed by the earthquake in Venezuela
demonstration, the AP said.
Attendees could be heard yelling as Cabello looked around. Footage taken by a journalist in Caracas and posted on Twitter showed residents rushing out of buildings and yelling in panic.
Nestor Luis Reverol, the Interior Minister of Venezuela, also took to the social media platform and said that the Government was ready to handle “any emergency.” “We are calling on the entire country of Venezuela to remain calm,” he tweeted. (Miami Herald)
