4.3 earthquake rocks Haiti
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) – An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.3 was recorded in Port au Prince and surrounding areas yesterday.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) says at 4:14 pm (Haiti time), the tremor was widely felt in the departments of the Central Plateau and Port Au Prince.
The epicentre of the earthquake was located 11 km southwest of Thomonde and 13 km northeast of Mirebalais in the central Plateau department.
In an interview with the online news agency AlterPresse, Chief of the Technical Unit of Seismology (UTS), Claude Preptit said the earthquake was located in an area that does not have a major fault line.
“This is not the first time that we have recorded seismic shocks in the Central Plateau, in areas that do not have major faults to date. Hence, there is the need for frther reseach on the (fault) structures in Haiti,” said Preptit who noted that no place in Haiti is immune to earthquakes.
“Contrary to what was in general accepted after the earthquake of January 12th, 2010, no place in Haiti – even the central Tray – is not sheltered from earthquakes,” he noted.
Shortly after the tremor, it was reported that a house was damaged in the community of Lascahobas.
This latest incident follows a report from the UTS on August 21 of a resurgence of seismic activity in sections of Southwestern Haiti.
According to the UTS, last month, three earthquakes were recorded in the community of Anse-à-Veau in the Department of Nippes.
