A seismic event has been registered in the Atlantic Ocean off the eastern coast of Antigua and Barbuda, according to preliminary data published in an interactive seismic map by the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre (UWI SRC).
Geographic data from the map confirms that the earthquake’s epicenter sits far east of the two-island nation, placing it outside the active earthquake zone of the Leeward Islands chain, a sub-region of the Lesser Antilles that sees frequent seismic activity. In the initial public release of this monitoring data, the UWI SRC did not include key technical details about the quake, such as its measured magnitude on the Richter scale, subsurface depth of the epicenter, or any anecdotal reports from local communities that the tremor was felt by residents.
As a regional scientific body, the UWI Seismic Research Centre holds the formal mandate of tracking all tectonic and seismic activity across the entire Eastern Caribbean. Through its expansive, interconnected regional monitoring network, the center regularly publishes fast preliminary location data for seismic events shortly after they are detected, as this monitoring work provides critical early awareness for local emergency management agencies across the Caribbean archipelago.
In the hours immediately following the detection of this event, no official or unofficial reports have emerged of structural damage to infrastructure, or harm to human populations in nearby island territories, suggesting the quake was too small or too distant to cause impact on land.