Earthquake 5.5 Magnitude Rattles Hurricane-Shattered Sint Maarten, Barbuda

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BRIDGETOWN — An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 jolted several Caribbean islands on Friday but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The Trinidad-based Seismic Research Center (SRC) of the University of the West Indies said that the quake, which occurred at 1.43 pm (local time), was felt in Barbuda, St. Kitts and Sint Maarten.

It said it was located Latitude: 18.71N, Longitude: 61.43W and at a depth of 10 kilometers.

“The event occurred north of Barbuda and was reported felt in St. Kitts and Sint Maarten,” the SRC said.

In recent weeks, several Caribbean countries have been rattled by earthquakes and in January an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 jolted the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa as well as the Mexican state of Quintana Roo and Belize.

Last month, Trinidad and Tobago was rattled by two earthquakes within a one week period. They measured 4.5 and 4.7 respectively.

John F. McCarthy is a veteran journalist in the Caribbean, writing from the "Decision Space" where survival meets the surreal. His reporting steel was tempered by a lineage of legendary editors and broadcasters, including Ed Wynn Brant (The Bomb), Owen Eschenroder (Ann Arbor News), Lynelle Emanuel (BVI Beacon), and Charles Thanas (WSVI-TV). Alongside longtime colleague Kenneth C. "Casey" Clark, McCarthy has navigated the front lines of the territory’s history—from the 1997 volcanic "snow" to every major hurricane since Hugo. Known for leaning out of doorless helicopters to capture the "money shot," McCarthy now edits the V.I. Free Press, providing the essential link between the island's colonial past and its SpaceX future.