KINGSTON, Jamaica — Of the 663 earthquakes recorded in Jamaica in 2024, only 19 were felt events, 13 of which occurred on the mainland, with magnitudes between 2.9 and 5.2.

The statistics are contained in the 2024 edition of the Economic and Social Survey Jamaica (ESSJ) an annual publication of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ). The survey found that 84 more seismic events were recorded in Jamaica last year when compared to 2023.

There were 34 local events which accounted for almost 47 per cent of the seismic activity. Over 22 per cent of recorded events occurred during November, with the PIOJ explaining that:

“The high occurrence of felt earthquakes during that month is attributed largely to aftershocks related to two events on February 10 of magnitudes 6.5 and 5.6.

Of note is that aftershocks can last for several weeks, months or even years after an initial quake, depending on the intensity of the original event.

The PIOJ said the parishes of Portland and St Andrew were the most active, accounting for over 47 per cent of felt events. There were 211 near events, 74 regional events, and 48 events due to blasting.

Meanwhile, the island’s seismic network was strengthened through the installation of a new seismograph station in St Thomas; the testing of an upgraded station in Portland; and the repair and update of priority stations.

“This served to improve data quality and availability towards addressing gaps in seismic coverage across the country,” it said

In addition, 11 new Internet of Things (IoT) sensors were installed in communities across the island to promote community-based involvement, and support the build-out of an earthquake early-warning system.

Other initiatives included the fielding of nine geophysical surveys and the collection of building data across two communities as part of research to better understand seismic risk.

Support to the global network of seismographs was provided through a partnership between Jamaica’s Earthquake Unit, and the United States’ Geological Surveys contractors. It included the replacement and upgrading of their Global Seismograph Network.

This was in keeping with maintenance and technological advancement with equipment at one of the sites, which is part of the network that supplements coverage for the region.

In the area of capacity building, staff of the Earthquake Unit participated in over 100 conferences, study tours, workshops and seminars.