/ 29 September 2006

Strong quake jolts Trinidad

A strong earthquake measuring 6 on the Richter scale rocked Trinidad and Tobago on Friday, alarming locals and leaving major areas of the Caribbean country of 1,3-million without electricity.

Early media reports had the entire island of Tobago, and the south and north of densely populated Trinidad without electrical power.

Frightened citizens were telling popular radio stations of their ordeals and reporting superficial damage to homes, offices and government buildings.

The earthquake disrupted air traffic at the country’s national airport as travellers and workers were evacuated from Piarco National Airport.

Workers of the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Company were dispatched to repair damage to lines in and around the capital city.

Venezuela’s seismological institute said the quake weighed in at 6,1 and hit just north of the island of Trinidad, which lies just off Venezuela’s north-eastern coast.

The tremors were felt throughout most of eastern Venezuela, but there were no immediate reports of major damage there, Gustavo Malava, director of Venezuela’s seismological institute, told state-owned VTV television. — AFP