KINGSTON, Jamaica (AFP) — The number of seismic activities recorded by Jamaica’s  Earthquake Unit in 2025 was 549 compared to 633 in 2024.

This is according to the 2025 edition of the Economic and Social Survey Jamaica, a publication of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ).

The survey found that over 50 per cent of the recorded events (280) were local, while 22.2 per cent or 122 were near. Local events occur on the island and in close offshore areas while near events occur within approximately 100.0 km of Jamaica’s coast.

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 PIOJ said the strengthening of the country’s seismic network continued with the upgrading of equipment which supports the National Data Centre and the  upgrading of GPS stations. It also includes 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.

Eight seismic stations were repaired, two of which were damaged during the passage of Hurricane Melissa last October.

The PIOJ said 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, ODPEM and other partners. In addition, over 45 communication and media-related activities were hosted and six seismic intensity surveys for felt earthquakes were conducted.