Virgin Islands and Caribbean region joins growing list of seismically-tense hotspots

September 5, 2012 – VIRGIN ISLANDS - The VIDN say on August 30, 2012:  “The V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency said that V.I. Alert subscribers who have noticed a recent increase in earthquake notifications from the service should not be alarmed. Between 3 a.m. Monday and continuing throughout the day Wednesday, more than 50 very minor to moderate earthquakes were recorded near Latitude 19 degrees north, north of the Virgin Islands, according to a statement VITEMA issued Wednesday. Those tremors included a 5.2-, 4.6- and 4.7-magnitude earthquake between 3 and 5 p.m. Wednesday. Victor Huerfano, director of the Puerto Rico Seismic Network, confirmed that the increase in earthquake activity is a swarm of tremors, a phenomenon that occurs four or five times a year in different parts of the Caribbean region, according to VITEMA. A swarm is defined as three or more earthquakes occurring within an hour, and the Puerto Rico Seismic Network has been recording these instances since Saturday. “It is normal but we cannot say what it means,” Huerfano said. “It is more important that we make sure we are calm and prepared, and that emergency systems are in place in case a major earthquake happens.” The Virgin Islands is located in a seismically active region, which has a potential for a major earthquakes to occur at any time, according to VITEMA’s statement.” –VIDN

That was August 30, 2012 and the earthquake swarm in the Virgin Islands has since only intensified, with back-to-back 4.2 and 5.2 magnitude earthquakes striking along the tectonic plate boundary within the span of an hour. There are now five regions of the world where seismic tension is registering higher than normal: California, the Virgin Islands of the Caribbean plate, Alaska, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Any of these regions are primed for the eruption of large-scale seismic events. People in high-risk seismic zones should remain alert for the possible occurence of potentially hazardous seismic or volcanic episodes. -The Extinction Protocol

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