Earthquake off the coast of Dominica
Written by Radio Caribbean International on January 9, 2020
Local reports of Mid Morning tremors have been attributed to an earthquake off the coast of Dominica.
Confirmation of the quake was issued by the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre, earlier today. The seismic event is reported to have reached a 5.2 magnitude on the Richter scale, which classifies quakes within the range of 5.0 to 5.9 as moderate.
A report on the quake identified the time of its occurrence as 10.01 am, at a depth of 123 kilometeres, 23 kilometres south east of Rosseau, 66 km NNW of Fort-de-France, Martinique and 124 km SSE of Point-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe.
According to the Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM or MMI) which is a seismic intensity scale used for measuring the intensity of shaking produced by an earthquake, events within this range can cause damage of varying severity to poorly constructed buildings, and at most, none to slight damage to all other buildings.
Seismic events within this range are estimated to occur globally with an average frequency of 1000 to 1500 per year.
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