(Trinidad Guardian) A 6.1 magnitude earthquake yesterday rocked T&T, with aftershocks being experienced as far as St Vincent and the Grenadines.
The earthquake, which took place at 5.42 pm, was felt by citizens in Arima, Chaguanas, Port-of-Spain, Matelot, Chaguaramas, San Fernando, Penal and even neighbouring Tobago.
Although no one was reported injured, nor was there any infrastructural damage, food items on the shelves of several supermarkets across the country, including Xtra Foods and West Bees in Diego Martin, toppled over with the earthquake’s prolonged vibrations.
According to a Facebook post on the UWI Seismic Research Centre page, the earthquake’s location was 11.04 north latitude with 60.70 west longitude at a depth of 29 km.
Yesterday, many people took to Facebook afterwards, saying they were surprised by the magnitude of the earthquake. Others admitted that the aftershocks felt even stronger.
A female employee of West Bees, who gave her name as Ms Johnson, said they had to close the supermarket after a large quantity of goods feel off shelves and scattered onto the isles.
“The supermarket is in a mess with items all over… some of them which were broken.
“We had to close our doors. Our staff are in the process of repacking the shelves, which would take a while. This was the last thing we were expecting,” Johnson said.
Customer service representative at Xtra Foods Grand Bazaar Sandra Khan said the entire supermarket shook, while a few items skated off the shelves.
“For a long time I had not experienced such a powerful earthquake. It was really frightening.”
She said some customers remained calm while others left in fear. But Khan said they did not see the need to close the supermarket.
“A few of our workers picked up the goods that fell on the ground and place them back on the shelves. We continued with business as usual,” Khan said.