KINGSTON, Jamaica – The light and power company in Jamaica has reported that it has restored service to all customers affected by outages caused by Monday morning’s 5.6 magnitude earthquake.
In a release on Monday, the Jamaica Public Service indicated that approximately 132,000 customers in Kingston and St. Andrew, St. Catherine, Manchester, and St. James were affected by the outages.
“The customers outside the corporate area were restored within a few minutes, while JPS worked over the past few hours to restore service to the Kingston and St. Andrew customers in phases,” JPS said.
Jamaica Public Service
The quake occurred at approximately 10:57 a.m. According to the authorities, the impact was reportedly felt across the island, with the epicenter located about 10 kilometers south of Buff Bay, Portland.
The Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Haiti, United States Minor Outlying Islands, and Cuba also reportedly felt the impact.
The earthquake reduced a house in Ramble, St Thomas to rubble.
The 5.6 magnitude earthquake that rocked Jamaica Monday morning, October 30, 2023, has left at least one family in St Thomas homeless.
The family’s house, located in the community of Ramble, collapsed during the quake.
Member of Parliament for St. Thomas Western, James Robertson, is reportedly assisting them.
Monday’s earthquake caused several minor landslides in St. Thomas. The Mahogany Vale to Mavis Bank road is reportedly been reduced to a single lane.
Additionally, there was a significant landslide along the road between Hagley Gap and Mahogany Vale, making it impassable to vehicular traffic.
The situation in the community has been made worse by heavy rainfall.
There was chaos on the roadways in Corporate Area following the major earthquake.
Several roads in the Kingston and St Andrew area were blocked with traffic as residents rushed home following the major earthquake that rocked several sections of Jamaica.
The quake, which is said to have centered in Buff Bay in Portland, came in at a magnitude of 5.6 on the Richter Scale.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness had called for calm in the public space.
“Our assessments so far have indicated minor damages, but at this point, I want to tell all Jamaicans to remain calm and follow all the protocols regarding earthquakes and safety,” he said.
Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness
Holness also said that there have been no reported deaths.
Checks are currently underway island-wide to assess the damages fully.
Several buildings across the Corporate Area were evacuated
Multiple buildings in the Corporate Area were evacuated on Monday morning due to a strong earthquake.
People outside expressed that the earthquake was scary.
A similar situation occurred in Portland, where municipal corporation staff left the building for safety.
People in Port Antonio also sought safe places.
Residents were left confused by the earthquake.
The Earthquake Unit at the University of the West Indies reported that the earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.6.
The earthquake occurred at 10:57 a.m. and was located approximately 10km south of Buff Bay, Portland.
Jamaicans from all over the island reported feeling the earthquake.