St. John Awakened by Early-Morning Earthquake

St. John residents were shaken out of their sleep on Monday morning, January 22, when a 3.7-magnitude earthquake struck 21 miles off Cruz Bay.

The quake occurred at 6:39 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey Web site, http://earthquake.usgs.gov.

The earthquake, located at 18.557°N, 65.028°W, occurred at a depth of 14.2 miles, and is considered “minor,” a category encompassing 3.0 to 3.9-magnitude earthquakes, according to the USGS Web site.

It was the strongest earthquake of the year so far in the Virgin Islands region, according to the Puerto Rico Seismic Network Web site, http://redsismica.uprm.edu/english.

The earthquake caused minor rumblings that were felt for less than five seconds, and no damage was reported.