BREAKING: Barbados hit by earthquake/tremor/aftershock UPDATE, Nov 29, 2007 at 1945 hrs: Soon after finishing the last update, I left home to see what some of my friends were up to at our usual liming spot and to get fuel and some cash. One doesn't stay home after an event like that. It's like the hurricane parties, or going out after the hurricane has passed.

I was worried about fuel because my gas tank was almost empty and I figured that the pumps would shutdown as a precaution after the tremor. Turns out that the gas stations, the two that I stopped at, were still pumping. I wonder if they'll be doing any checks on the underground 'plumbing' to ensure that there are no damaged pipes. The other stop I made was the ATM for some cash. In the event of a disaster (or just after one) it doesn't hurt to have some cash on hand.

Before leaving, my brother wondered about the Brittons Hill area, where the cave-in took place. Those underground caves apparently run up a great length of that part of the island and this tremor may have caused further instability, or, it may have 'settled' the loose rocks, but I'm no geologist.

People that I met and spoke with were saying pretty much the same thing, some of them said it felt as though they were dizzy/sick, others were just plain confused, one person I heard was extremely upset (and I can't blame her). After all, you spend all of your life avoiding hurricanes (knock wood) and volcanoes thinking you're safe on your little island and then WHAM!

Imagine your country was small enough to fit in a shoebox, along comes a giant and suddenly lifts up the shoebox and starts shaking it around. That's sort of what it felt like today, and we only experienced a tremor and for a few seconds at that. No hint, no preview of what was to come. What you think is solid and take for granted every day when you wake-up, isn't that solid after all. That, for me, was the most disturbing part of the whole thing.

UPDATE, Nov 29, 2007 at 1609+ hrs: Google is all over it. Check out the first few results of this query: "powerful earthquake hits caribbean". I'm on IM with Janine from Global Voices, she tells me that TT had a scary one last year, but this one was way stronger. She also says that the aftershocks are expected to be quite strong.

UPDATE, Nov 29, 2007 at 1557 hrs: I don't know the state of the mobile phone network in Barbados, but I'm a Digicel subscriber and at 1557 hrs, I am unable to make outgoing calls to Cable & Wireless mobile subscribers, nor can I call C&W land lines. I cannot call from a C&W landline to my Digicel mobile. My C&W land line, however, is now operational. I can also hear quite a few police sirens in the distance.

While chatting with a friend about 30 or more minutes ago, I heard that there were people all over the streets in Bridgetown (the capital). Another friend told me, just after the shaking stopped, that his office was being evacuated (he works in Christ Church). Another friend who works in Ch. Ch. as well is now leaving the office for the day (work normally stops at 5:30).

Barbados Underground: Barbados Experiences Earth Tremor

DISCLAIMER: IANAEE (I'm Am Not An Earthquake Expert), but click here for what I think may be the quake that I felt (and according to the news, the majority of St. Michael and Christ Church felt, but comments on BU and BFP indicate that it was island wide). Apparently, it hit near Martinique and measured 7.3 on the scale!

At around minutes to 3 pm (or minutes after) this afternoon, I felt my house shake. At first, I thought it was me feeling dizzy. I had just taken a tablet for a headache and I was sitting on the couch watching TV. This dizziness was unlike anything I had ever experienced. It was like being on a boat in the water, gently being rocked by the waves. I looked at the metal gate by my gallery door and it swung every so slightly. But what really gave it away, was a little stuffed dog on large shelf, the one where the head bobs up and down at the slightest movement. The dog's head was bobbing quite a bit. I left the living room (in a hurry) and went outside in the open. As I left that room, I could hear the TV creak on the small wooden stand on the floor. I went outside in the open and I could hear kids screaming from a school closeby. Neighbours were outside as well, they felt something. Another neighbour told me her mum called from Trinidad and said that a quake was felt there.

This was my first experience with an earthquake/aftershock/tremor. It was not a pleasant one. It was extremely disorienting at first, because your whole body is thrown off balance. It lasted a few seconds. During those few seconds, all I could think of was getting out of the house and into the open, away from any structures.

Land lines and mobile phones are giving a lot of trouble right now, thankfully, my DSL line is up and I can access the Internet to blog about this and to instant message and check on a few friends. A friend of mine IM'd and said that he heard half a house was destroyed in St. George. Someone commented on Barbados Free Press that the quake/tremor/aftershock was felt down on the East Coast of the island as well.

Labels: Barbados, Caribbean, earthquakes, Trinidad

3:08 PM