Record earthquake hits Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands’ strongest earthquake since 1900 rattled windows and sent residents fleeing into the streets, according to islanders and the US Geological Survey.

Yesterday’s tremor in the wealthy British territory registered 6.7 on the Richter scale, according to Kathleen Gohn, a spokeswoman for the US Geological Survey based in Golden, Colorado.

“I got out of my house as fast as I could. I thought a plane was coming at us,” said Maxine Drake from Hallifax, Nova Scotia, who resides part time in Grand Cayman.

The initial quake lasted about 10 seconds and small shock waves were felt for more than half an hour, residents said. No serious damage or injuries had been reported.

The epicentre of the earthquake was 20 miles south-south east of Georgetown. It was the strongest tremor to hit the Cayman Islands since 1900, Gohn said.

It was also one of several to strike the region in the last month, but Gohn said the tremors were unrelated. Activity in the Caribbean, however, had been high, she said.

The Cayman Islands have been plagued with disaster this year, recently releasing an estimate of hurricane damage caused by Hurricane Ivan at more than £1.5bn (€2.2bn).

The storm tore through the territory in September, destroying 70% of buildings and damaging many hotels. Many residents were forced to move to Grand Cayman’s sister islands – Little Cayman and Cayman Brac – which received little damage.