Strong 6.0 earthquake rattles eastern Caribbean islands

Several islands across the eastern Caribbean were shaken Saturday morning by a magnitude 6.0 earthquake, with tremors felt across a wide swath of the region but no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

According to preliminary seismic data, the quake struck around 10:50 a.m. local time and was centered roughly 43.5 miles from the village of Codrington on Antigua and Barbuda, near the island of Barbuda.

Shaking was reported across multiple territories, including the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Sint Maarten, Saint Martin, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla, Saint Barthélemy, the Caribbean Netherlands, and parts of Venezuela.

Despite the wide reach of the tremor, officials reported no structural damage or injuries in the immediate aftermath. Emergency agencies across the region also confirmed there was no tsunami threat following the quake.

Seismologists noted that the Caribbean sits along a highly active tectonic boundary where the Atlantic and Caribbean plates interact, making moderate earthquakes relatively common across the Lesser Antilles arc.

While the quake was widely felt, authorities said they would continue to monitor the region for aftershocks as a precaution.