Earthquake?

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/prP0601301.htm

Looks like it !!

Felt nothing either!

4.0 hit 28 miles from STT at 12.10 am - who hoo

I felt it 12:10am (by my cell phone clock) in the Mandahl area.

Piaa, where did you get the info?

Thanks!

Best,

LR

Holy cow, it was an earthquake?! I totally felt it. I never experienced one before. Wow, that's not comforting news. I live right on the beach, so any tidal waves, or even Tsunami... Maybe I should move to higher grounds.

LR-

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/prP0601301.htm

check this out, the danger is definitely out there:

http://poseidon.uprm.edu/

There actually was a tsunami in 1867!! It was caused by an earthquake between St Croix and St Thomas. Read the info on this site: http://www.usc.edu/dept/tsunamis/caribbean/webpages/1867viindex.html

Jerk: The VI is in a quite busy earthquake zone- there are dozens a week. Mostly they are small and no one feels them, but occasionally you'll get one like last night's. It is easier to feel them at night because you are (usually) motionless, plus you can hear them. There are some websites you can explore- look at stormVI.com and follow the links.

How well do you dog paddle? 😀

Hey Loyal Reader,
I found it at this site http://www.wunderground.com/US/VI/Saint_Thomas.html
Fun wasn't it 🙂

Well,I am still on Kodiak Island Alaska,and there is a volcano less than 75 miles from me,that has been shaking and spewing ash several times a day for the last two days.It is expected to do something more volatile any time now.The island I am on will be directly affected by a major blow,With ash,and we are in direct line for tsunami.People are being advised not to drive if they can help it,due to ash alerts,or go outside much,if it can be helped.
Planes are having trouble getting out,due to the close proximity of the ash plume,and its random changing of directions with wind currents.Planes are being instructed to fly around the ash plumes,as the ash gets sucked into the engines with disasterous results.Oh well,I guess its just a matter of where you want to be,if something does go wrong.Guess I would REALLY rather be in STX with earthquakes,than be here,with impending tsunami that has no where else to go but right over this island.You can feel the effects of the ash in the air:burning eyes(inside the house),and irritated lungs(light coughing),sneezing a lot.
Am looking forward to my last plane ride from here before the end of the month....Hope the volcano holds out that long.....LOL...LA

LA: I hate to tell you this, but we are also about 100 something miles downwind of Monserrat. The description of ash problems holds here too!

EastEnder:
Is there much activity from Monserrat,other than the quakes,in the last few years??
Oh well,would rather be there,than here,no matter what is going on...But thanks for the info.....LA

LA: The quakes are not related to Montserrat, other than being part of our Caribbean plate. The epicenter the other night was 40 miles north of us. But the volcano erupted in 1996 (?) and has been active since that time. Occasionally we get ash fall, although I couldn't tell you with certainty the last eruption. They have a volcano research center there, if you are interested, you can Google it.

There was an volcanic erruption in July, 2003 that was severe enough that ash impacted flights. Flights were cancelled for three days. My flight to St. Maarten (that had been planned for months) was the first flight in. We had LOTS of unhappy honeymooners & vacationers becasuese their trip was delayed.

I remember that about 18 years ago a respected visiting group of seismologists predicted that within the next 10 years, the islands would suffer from a huge earthquake. So, so far so good.

We're in the same pattern as the San Andreas fault line in California and earthquakes happen with regularity although, as East Ender said, one rarely notices them. I did sort of feel the last one the other night but thought it was a truck going by. I only remember two in the last 20 odd years which made ME quake and get rather disorientated when the pots and pans and plates started shaking!

As far as the 1867 tsunami on STT is concerned, it was preceded by a massive hurricane on October 29th "which in magnitude and destructiveness, surpassed everything ever known or recorded in history. Over 300 lives were lost and about 77 vessels were stranded or wrecked. Following this, on the 18th of November, came a severe shock of earthquake and a tidal wave. The earthquake shock lasted about thirty seconds, and a few moments afterwards the sea receded, leaving the harbour almost dry, exposing many sunken wrecks, and, upon its return, laying waste the wharves and warehouses built upon its shores. Many of the finest buildings were cracked, a great deal of property was destroyed, and such was the terror and dismay created that people deserted their homes and camped out upon the hills."

That little excerpt is from Luther K. Zabriskie's, "The Virgin Islands of The United States of America." which was published in 1918, a year after the USA purchased the islands from Denmark. It's an awesome history but unfortunately has been long out of print. I had read excerpts of it in some very dated pamphlets put out by what was then the College of The Virgin Islands (now UVI) and finally found an original copy online just a couple of years ago.

My apologies if I've bored anyone by posting at such length!

I still am amazed when I go downtown here in Kodiak.There is a massive freighter,that was picked up by a tsunami in the early 60's and put down on the land next to the harbour.It was to massive to move back into the water;so they made a fish cannery out of it.It is quite a huge landmark....The power of a tsunami is awe inspiring........LA

When I looked up Montserrat online,it showed an airstrip being constructed at the base of the volcano.Do people live there,in close proximity to it??? LA

After the initial eruptions of 1996 or 97, the main town of Portsmouth was completely engulfed in ash and the airport was destroyed. The people were moved to the north side of the island, "the safe zone." Many left and went to England. The economy fell apart. They are trying slowly to encourage some eco-tourism and have just built a new airport. They were dependent on helicopters and boats this whole time.

Monserrat was the Emerald Island. One claim to fame was that it was home to Air Studios, owned by George Martin (also destroyed in the original eruption.) In the 80s many albums were recorded there- The Police, Elton John, etc. (In fact, Elton John married the studio engineer.)

Now the whole southern section is ash covered and smells like sulphur. It will have wonderful farming some day, again...

Sorry for the lengthy post, but Monserrat is one of my favorite Caribbean islands.

Such an eloquent name,for such a tragic history....LA