The first, the 5.1 magnitude earthquake, was recorded 22 miles south of George Town and felt by residents from West Bay to North Side early Wednesday morning.
The quake occurred at 5:01 a.m. at a depth of 6.2 miles, according to the United States Geological Survey, which monitors and records seismic activity.
The second quake, measuring 5.2 magnitude, was also recorded at a depth of 6.2 miles, some 26 miles south of George Town, at 6.34 p.m., USGS reported.
No damage or injuries were reported in either quake.
Kellie McGee, a resident of Villa Royale townhouses on Seven Mile Beach, was among those who felt the morning tremor.
“It was around 5 a.m., and I was already up. It started with the sound of some very heavy boxes being shifted and thrown around.
“I was trying to figure out what was going on. Then, the blinds began to sway, and on the third floor of the apartment I live in, the frame of the bed and building start to sway.”
“For me, it was an extremely long 15 to 20 seconds, and definitely the strongest of quakes I have felt in Cayman. Still trying to figure out how people managed to sleep through that …,” she said.
Mitzi Callan, a West Bay resident, said she also felt the 5 a.m. earthquake.
“I was already awake when I felt a mild shaking, but when the bed and walls started moving, I got frightened. It only lasted about 10 seconds.”
Jade Arch, who lives in Savannah, said Wednesday was the first time she has ever felt an earthquake.
“I woke up just after 5 a.m. to the feeling of my bedroom shaking. My room is upstairs, so it was a distinct feeling, but I thought it was a dream,” she said.
Videographer Michael Maes said the earthquake woke up him and his family in their home in North Side.
“I was sleeping and I woke up around 5 a.m. by a deep rumbling sound and I felt a little bit of shaking in the bed. Having experienced that 20 years ago, I knew it must have been an earthquake. It was only about five seconds or so,” he said in a phone interview.
“For the next hour, I kept on surfing online to see if there would be a tsunami alarm but there was no warning, so it was okay,” he added.
Despite the morning quake being felt by numerous residents, Simon Boxall of Hazard Management of the Cayman Islands, the organization that deals with disasters, said “911 fielded very few calls and there was no damage or injuries reported.”
The last quake recorded near the Cayman Islands was 4.3 magnitude on Aug. 11. Before that, two small earthquakes were recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey near Cayman in June.
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