Shaken Trinis laugh off 5.3 quake

On Friday night around 10 pm, Trinidad experience an earthquake that was felt through most of the island.

According to the University of the West Indies’s Seismic Research Centre Facebook page, preliminary results show that the 5.3 magnitude earthquake occurred at 9.54 pm at latitude 10.78N and longitude 62.39W, off the coast of Venezuela. According to various Facebook posts, the earthquake was felt throughout Trinidad including Moruga, San Fernando, Tunapuna, Valsayn, Belmont, Freeport, Maraval, Santa Cruz, Carenage, Mayaro and other areas. The tremor was not felt in Tobago. There were reports of dogs howling or barking, buildings rocking, and about people hearing the wave of the earthquake before it shook their homes. There was also a scattering of concerned voices about tsunamis, aftershocks, and life choices.

Linda Lawrence Greaves posted, “Glasses in my cupboard started clinking..then the shake n the dizzy feeling..Arima. Only the blood of Jesus can keep this nation safe..prayer n daily repentance..turning away from the world ..n running after Jesus.”

However, as is the way of the Trini, most people made a joke of the situation. One older woman posted, “As my deceased mother used to say God is rearranging the furniture up there!”

Jurissa Joseph said, “Felt it in San Juan. At first I thought was my stomach rumbling because I get bad gas nah. Turn out to be otherwise.” Kristel Pabaroo-De Leon said, “My aunt told me she felt it while rocking in a chair... I taught for a moment her blood pressure went too high.... Turned out she really felt it at Vega de Oropouche, Sangre Grande.” Donna Ann Williams said, “So it came from Venezuela and the whole country felt it so can someone call the immigration department? lol.” There were even memes, several of them at the expense of Port of Spain Division head Snr Supt Floris Hodge-Griffith who, recently, on the TV show Beyond the Tape mistakenly wished Muslims a “Happy Divali” for Eid-ul-Fitr before correcting herself. The latest meme read: “I would like Trinidadians to stay inside/while the eye of the earthquake passes over us.”Hodge-Griffith yesterday said she hoped no one was making any money off of her mistake but was extremely amused by the memes.

In the end, there were no reports of anyone being hurt or properties damaged.