Update: Earthquake damage house, roads in deep south Rupununi

Last Updated on Sunday, 31 January 2021, 21:35 by Denis Chabrol

The 5.9 magnitude earthquake Sunday afternoon damaged a number of thatched roof and brick houses in the deep south Rupununi where mostly Indigenous Amerindians reside, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) said.

In an update, the government’s disaster response agency announced plans to assess the damage at Katooranib village.

“The Regional Authorities of Upper Takutu-Upper Esequibo (Region 9) have confirmed that there are some damages to properties and earth surfaces in the Region due to the 5.7 magnitude earthquake that shook several parts of Guyana earlier today.

The Regional Response System is mobilised and ready to conduct  assessment and give support to affected families,” the CDC said.

There, the brick walls of two houses were shattered and earthen trails cracked by the quake whose epicentre was believed to be in the vicinity of Dadanawa, another area in the Rupununi

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There were no reports of death injury associated with the earthquake that rattled the Rupununi Region, parts of neighbouring northern Brazil and even parts of the coastland. Residents in Region 8 (Potaro-Siparuni) and Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice) also reported feeling the tremor shortly after 3 PM local time.

The tremor started at about 3:07 PM and lasted several minutes.

The USGS said the quake was at a depth of 9.7 kilometres and 83 kilometres from Lethem, the capital of Region Nine (Upper Takatu- Upper Essequibo).

Lethem Mayor John Macedo said the quake was “pretty strong’, causing one 0f his guests to exit the Kanuku Hotel as a matter of precaution. “I felt the tremor. All the walls and windows were shaking,” he told News-Talk Radio/ Demerara Waves Online News.

The Mayor said he did not receive any preliminary reports of any damage or destruction caused by the quake. “It seems as though it hasn’t had any significant impact,” he said.