Singers Wayne Marshall, his wife Tami Chin Mitchell and their son Geo were caught off guard along with millions of Jamaicans by a 5.4 magnitude earthquake on Monday morning at around 10:57 local time.
The three were recording a gospel song for their popular YouTube and social media channel “Meet The Mitchell’s” when Wayne and Tami in synchronized shock uttered Jamaican bad words b***oclaa* and they all rushed to get their other children.
Reggae singer Tarrus Riley also reacted saying “that’s the biggest earthquake Jamaica has ever have in history, that name Earth. Quake.”
Elsewhere media maven Cliff Hughes of Nationwide 90 FM was midway his daily program with a caller on the line, when he had to disappear from the screen and find safety under the studio desk.
Sean Paul was also being interviewed by Tofu Jack and Danzab when he felt the tremor at home and headed for cover.
Manager to dancehall artist Shenseea and Ding Dong posted a video showing Cliff taking cover and wish him well saying “hope you good bro bro.” He also shared a rather comical response immediately after the tremor.
Several super markets on the in the island had their shelves cleared by what some are calling the strongest earthquake in this lifetime.
Boulders have also blocked roads on the island in the Junction St. Mary main road as well as the East Rural St. Andrew constituency.
The epicenter of the quake is on the eastern end of the island 4KM WNW of Hope Bay, mid way between Buff Bay and Port Antonio. An aftershock was felt at 12:26 pm.
No causalities have been reported so far but Producer and radio host ZJ Sparks said she has never experienced any Earthquake that strong.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness have a statement following the quake saying his information state that the damage has been minor but “nevertheless we are taking all precautions.”
Jamaica has not experienced a major Earthquake in over 100 years when the 1907 Kingston earthquake, struck Jamaica’s capital with a 6.2 magnitude on January 14th at approximately 3:30 p.m. local time. It stands as one of the deadliest seismic events in recorded history according to the United States Geological Survey.
The catastrophe left every Kingston building in ruins, ignited fires that raged for three hours before containment efforts could commence, resulting in nearly 1,000 casualties and about $30 million in material damage (equivalent to $942.21 million in 2022). Additionally, a tsunami, with a maximum wave height of roughly 2 meters (6–8 feet), struck the north coast of Jamaica shortly after.
Jamaica is situated in a geologically intricate region where the Gonâve Microplate and the Caribbean Plate meet. East of the island, the predominant fault is the Enriquillo–Plantain Garden fault zone, while to the west, the primary structure is the Walton fault zone. Both of these are significant sinistral (left lateral) strike-slip faults.
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The transfer of plate boundary displacement between these major fault zones occurs along a network of northwest-southeast trending faults, including the Wagwater Belt. The overarching tectonic context at this restraining bend in the plate boundary is characterized by transpression.
The most famous earthquake in Jamaica struck Port Royal on June 7, 1692, stands as one of our most colossal and devastating natural calamities in history. While its tremors were felt throughout the entire island, the greatest loss of life transpired in Port Royal, where a section of the town submerged beneath the sea.
