earthquake??

Yes, it was. Pretty loud too!
Ronnie

you are right the sound was similar to the space shuttle landing I was waiting for the sonic boom!!!

Are you on Stt or STX? Any major damage?

It just posted on the USGS web site: http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/

Updated as of Sat Dec 11 20:34:55 UTC 2004. DATE-(UTC)-TIME Latitude Longitude

2004/12/11 19:45:45 18.68N 64.66W 42.4 5.2 VIRGIN ISLANDS

More info http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/neic_rxbc.html

I am on STT, and I barely felt it, so I don'tthinkwe'll hear of much damage. It was loud, though!

Pardon my lack of spaces, as my space bar is on the fritz!

great... I took time out of packing to read the forums...just what I wanted to see!! hehe

sounds like California... *lol*

I looked out my window to see if a passing ships motor was making the shaking - hearing the "sound" of a motor - or so I thought.

Ronnie are you really telling me the sound I heard (as did my neighbor who was over at Sapphire at the time it occured).......was actually the sound of the earthquake?

Yes, I'm from California and I know earthquakes make/can make, really horrendous sounds. Wasn't sure if I was actually 'hearing' this earthquake?

No damage here - and good thing too, my apt wall is one side of the house cistern and if it is cracked - as in an earthquake - gosh will I get flooded out???!!!!!!!!! LOL

Yes, That was the sound. Chances are if your wall cracked, the water would just leak out. I think they are strong enough to withstand most anything!
Ronnie

We were at Fortress Storage (STT) and thought a truck had hit the building. We didn't hear a crash though and then realized that a truck couldn't make the concrete ground shake! I jumped out of the storage unit to stand out in the clear. This was the first earthquake I have ever experienced, so please excuse my excitement. My kids were sitting in the truck and missed the whole event. It was near impossible to explain what happened when they didn't actually feel it.

Was it felt across the whole island or just the central part? Island Paul, were you at home when you heard it? Did you feel it? The only thing we heard was the metal roof of the storage unit shaking, but we sure felt it. So strange.

Teresa

My son lives at Sapphire and said there was an earthquake. He said his building shook and the light fixture swayed. I didnt believe him. I guess it's true! Is this unusual?
Lauren

The earthquake was located 25 miles north of St. Thomas. I understand that earthquakes are not uncommon here.

Teresa

http://www.irf.org/irhazmit.htm

Hello FOG,

The website you mentioned said the following: Although not frequent (earthquakes), they have resulted in major damage and loss of life in the region (Virgin Islands), and they tend to be severe when they do occur.

Does this mean that the earthquake we experienced is rare in the fact that it was not severe? I was under the impression that minor earthquakes occurred more often. That website - seemed to me - to be biased towards the natural events being devastating rather than normal less harmful events. Don't know which it is, but not something I will constantly worry about. 😉

Teresa

Teresa,

That sentence kind of threw me, too. I think in any report, there are going to be a couple of poorly worded statements or errors.

Minor quakes are common but rarely felt. As the reports notes, major ones are rare but have done major damage. If you search both boards for “earthquakes,” you’ll see that this topic has been discussed before.

What’s kind of scary is that the USVI is ten times more populated than it was during the quake and tsunami of 1867. The shoreline is much more developed. Do tourists at the beach know to get to high ground immediately if they see the ocean receding from the shore (tsunami coming in)? The phonebook has earthquake but no tsunami information. Strange, because I know V.I. Government employees have been to conferences that cover tsunamis. I don’t think that report even mentions that HOVENSA is built on a landfill over Krause Lagoon. Earthquake damage to structures on landfills can be particularly heavy. HOVENSA some day might be a real disaster. It already has been. In 1989, after the eye of Hurricane Hugo passed over, the winds shifted from the south and blew oil from ruptured tanks all over and into homes as far as a mile north.