Cayman Islands Hit with a 5.8 Magnitude Earthquake

Another Caribbean nation was rocked by the earth Tuesday, January 19, as a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit Cayman Islands, the US Geological Survey said.

Citizens felt buildings and homes sway. There were no reports of damage or injuries.

The three-island chain British territory is only 600 miles (1000 kilometers) west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, which suffered many lives and heavy losses after a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake shook the poorest country in the western hemisphere last week.

The earthquake epicenter is 40 miles east from capital George Town and 30 miles southeast of Grand Cayman Island. It is just at 6.2 miles deep. It struck at 9:23 AM local time.

The other two islands in the territory are Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.

Grand Cayman lies just north of Oriente Fracture Zone, a very active fault line. The fault follows the northern edge of the Cayman Through, the deepest part of the Caribbean Sea.

The last major earthquake in the territory was in December 14, 2004 with magnitude 6.8.