Earthquake unit recorded 549 earthquake in 2025

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Earthquake Unit at the University of the West Indies, Mona, recorded 549 earthquakes in 2025, relative to 633 in 2024.

This information is contained in the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) Economic and Social Survey Jamaica 2025, which was tabled in the House of Representatives on June 30.

The report stated that more than 50 per cent of recorded events (280) were local, while 22.2 per cent (122) were near.

“There were seven felt events, all of which occurred on the mainland and ranged between magnitudes 3.1 and 4.2 on the Richter scale,” the document said.

The PIOJ noted that the strengthening of the country’s seismic network continued with upgrading of equipment that supports the National Data Centre.

It also mentioned the upgrade of GPS stations and the installation of 12 sensors for the citizen network to promote community-based seismic monitoring and improve the mapping of ground shaking across the island.

Also, eight seismic stations were repaired, two of which were damaged during the passage of Hurricane Melissa.

Meanwhile, sustainability in the power supply system was improved through the upgrade of the solar system power-storage capacity with three new high-capacity lithium batteries.

“To support the public awareness programme, the Earthquake Preparedness Guidelines for Places of Worship was prepared through collaboration among the Earthquake Unit (EU), ODPEM (Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management) and other partners,” the report said.

In addition, 45 communication and media-related activities were hosted and six seismic intensity surveys for felt earthquakes were conducted.

—  JIS