KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Jamaica Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) reported Tuesday night (January 12), that it had been advised by the Earthquake Unit that a felt earthquake of magnitude M7.0 (USGS report) and a focal depth of 10km was located in the Haiti region, near Port-Au-Prince at 4:53p.m..
The earthquake was felt in several areas of Jamaica including: Liguanea, Barbican, UWI, Half -Way -Tree, Heroes Circle, Kingston/St Andrew ,Seaforth, St Thomas, Annotto Bay, St Mary, Hope Bay, Portland.
A Tsunami Watch was issued at 4:53 p.m. by the Pacific Warning Centre for Haiti, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas. Whilst none was issued for Jamaica, a Tsunami Advisory has been issued for the region.
A Tsunami Watch is the second highest level of tsunami alert. It is issued by the TWCs based on seismic information without confirmation that a destructive tsunami is underway. It is issued as a means of providing an advance. A Watch for a particular area may be included in the text of the message that disseminates a Warning for another area.
