In Guadeloupe, a strong earthquake hits the island

France 20/01/2023 16:00 Updated on 20/01/2023 16:42

In Guadeloupe, a strong earthquake hits the island

The earthquake, whose magnitude is between 5.9 and 6.2 on the Richter scale, was felt on many nearby islands, including Martinique.

LOIC VENANCE / AFP

Many Guadeloupeans were awakened by an earthquake of magnitude 5.9 on the Richter scale this Friday, January 20, as on this Terre-de-Haut beach, photographed in May 2022 (Photo illustration).

ENVIRONMENT – An unaccommodating alarm clock. Around 7:30 a.m. this Friday, January 20, an earthquake with a magnitude between 5.9 and 6.2 on the Richter scale was felt by many inhabitants of Guadeloupe, but without causing significant damage according to firefighters. .

According to the Guadeloupe chain the 1st, the epicenter was about 36 kilometers from Basse-Terre and 19 kilometers from Pointe-Noire, but several islands in the area were also impacted by this earthquake, starting with Martinique. Dominica, Saint Martin, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Barthélemy, Antigua and Barbuda and Anguilla also felt the quake.

An hour after the earthquake, the firefighters of Guadeloupe indicated that there was no“ongoing intervention related to this event”.

According to the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Guadeloupe, quoted by Guadeloupe the 1st the exact magnitude of this tectonic earthquake would be 5.9 on the Richter scale, located 27 km west-northwest of Bouillante, a town on the east coast of Guadeloupe, as you can see below.

But according to the Seismological Research Center of the University of the West Indies (UWI), the earthquake would rather have a magnitude of 6.1, and even 6.2 according to the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC).

No risk of tsunami

The Minister of the Interior and Overseas, Gérald Darmanin, reacted quickly after the announcement of the earthquake, which lasted “long secondsaccording to the first testimonies. Gérald Darmanin took the opportunity to ensure that the risk of a tsunami was averted. “At this stage, no major damage has been identified. Thank you to the emergency services for their reactivity“, he added in a tweet.

On social networks, the announcement by the French television channel prompted many residents of the impacted area to testify in the comments.

Enough to realize the magnitude of the earthquake, felt as far as Fort-de-France, capital of Martinique, located more than 200 kilometers south of Guadeloupe.

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