Small quake rattles Trinidad

An earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter Scale rattled parts of Trinidad Sunday night. It was recorded at a depth of 38 kilometres. Earthquakes between 3 and 7 are considered are considered "medium" sized.

No damage or injuries were reported but many people felt the tremors.

“It sounded like a truck slamming into the house...I thought any time some aftershocks were coming but they did not come. I spent the whole night thinking it would have serious aftershocks,” one person told the Newsday newspaper. Another said she “waited for it to get bigger.”

Seismologist Joan Latchman of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Seismic Research University (SRU) said in a radio interview the Caribbean region could experience “one of its great earthquakes” soon since this had not happened for the past 100 years.

Latchman said people need to prepare and take earthquakes seriously. She said earthquakes in the magnitude of 7.1 to 7.5 range occur in the eastern Caribbean every 20 to 30 years.

A release from the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) said emergency services had been put on alert to assist in the event of aftershocks.

“There have been no confirmed reports of damage. However, the disaster management units within the various municipal corporations will continue to perform damage assessments throughout the country, with assistance from ODPM as necessary,” the agency said.