PHILIPSBURG--It sounded like an oncoming train to some and like a clanging empty container truck to others, but no matter what it sounded like the source was an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.9 on the Richter Scale that shook the island around 1:18pm.
The earthquake occurred some 15 miles southeast of Philipsburg, St. Maarten, with the epicentre located near 17.8 degrees North and 63.0 degrees West, according to information from the Meteorological Department of Cura�ao.
This is the first earthquake this year to occur so close to St. Maarten. On Wednesday, April 13, the island was shaken by a 5.1 magnitude earthquake that occurred near Virgin Gorda at 12:28am. That was the third earthquake for the year and was felt in only "a few sections" of St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba.
A quake that occurred on February 2 measured 5.2 on the Richter Scale. It was the second to occur in just about two weeks. Its epicentre was pinpointed at 156.9 km/97.5 miles in the ocean, some 50 km/30 miles West-Southwest of Oranjestad, St. Eustatius.
The earlier one was on January 20 and measured 5.0 on the Richter Scale. It occurred close to Montserrat at an ocean depth of some 166.9 kilometres or 103.7 miles, about 30km or 20 miles Southwest of Oranjestad, St. Eustatius. Although the January quake measured the least on the Richter Scale, it was the one felt most by residents.
The island usually experiences on average some five "heavy" earth tremors each year and several others not easily detected by humans.
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