Residents of Antigua and Barbuda experienced a jolt this morning as a magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck near the island, according to an automatic location report by the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre (UWI, SRC). The tremor occurred at 10:43 am local time (14:43 UTC) and was centered at a depth of 10 kilometers.
The epicenter was located at latitude 16.85N and longitude 61.55W, approximately 44 kilometers southeast of Saint John’s, Antigua and Barbuda.
Nearby cities also affected included Point-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, about 66 kilometers to the north, and Brades, Montserrat, roughly 73 kilometers to the east.
The seismic event prompted residents to take to social media to report their experiences.
One resident described the moment, saying, “Whole office building was shaking hard,” while another shared,
While there have been no immediate reports of significant damage, the UWI, SRC has issued a reminder that this preliminary location was automatically calculated and may be revised after further analysis by their experts.
The UWI, SRC has encouraged anyone who felt the earthquake to report their observations on their official feedback platform at https://uwiseismic.com/connect/earthquake-feedback/.
As the community awaits more detailed evaluations, local authorities are assessing the situation and will provide updates as more information becomes available. Residents are urged to review safety procedures in case of aftershocks.
