Prime Minister Andrew Holness is urging Jamaicans to remain calm as he disclosed that the initial damage assessment from Monday’s 5.6 magnitude earthquake has been minimal.
He gave a video update a short while ago, asking jamaicans to stay calm until a complete damage assessment is done.
Jamaica’s earthquake protocols have been activated.
There have been no reports of deaths. However, there have been reports of minor electrical outages.
Watch the update from Jamaica’s prime minister.
While small earthquakes are common in and around Jamaica — some 200 a year — large ones are rare.
The devastating Port Royal earthquake occurred in 1692, with a portion of the town sinking into the sea. Then in 1907, a quake struck the capital, Kingston, killing more than 1,000 people. Another big quake was reported in March 1957, affecting mostly western Jamaica, according to the University of the West Indies in Mona, Jamaica.
The island sits atop the Enriquillo–Plantain Garden fault zone, which it shares with Haiti and the Dominican Republic, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
