Earthquake off Cayman Islands
An earthquake struck near the Cayman Islands yesterday morning but no damage or injuries have been reported.

It came exactly a week after the devastating earthquake in Haiti left thousands dead.

The U.S. geological survey says the 5.8 magnitude quake was centred in the Caribbean Sea about 40 miles east-southeast of the capital of the Cayman Islands, Georgetown, at a depth of six miles.

The Cayman Islands are located south of Cuba in the Caribbean region.

Appleby, The Bank of Butterfield, MediaHouse (parent company of the Bermuda Sun), Conyers Dill and Pearman, Ernst and Young, KPMG and Pricewaterhouse Coopers have offices in both Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.

Appleby's managing partner in the Cayman Islands, Huw Moses, said no one was injured and their offices were not damaged.

"I was sitting at my desk when I heard a very loud thud," he told us. "My immediate thought was that a vehicle had hit the building. Then I looked out of my window and felt a series of rumblings and shaking.

"It became apparent then that it was an earthquake."

The office was evacuated and a fire alarm rang throughout Appleby's two buildings, alerting people to gather outside.

The fire marshals inspected the buildings and made sure everyone was accounted for before doing a quick physical check of the building to make sure there were no obvious structural problems.

When they were given the "all-clear" they returned to their desks and it was business as usual - with a few exceptions.

"Some of the schools closed which meant we let some of our staff off work to collect their children and check on their houses," Mr. Moses said. "My wife Kim came by to let me know our house was fine - only a few doors had come open and a few things were shaken up in cupboards.

"There is a sinkhole that has popped up which is the only report of any material damage happening."

Mr. Moses said that last week's earthquake in Haiti was on his mind.

"We were in a very fortunate position compared to what the poor people in Haiti are going through," he said. "People here were shocked as it was happening.

"Those who had come to the island since 2004 who didn't experience the last earthquake were definitely more shaken up.

"People were naturally very concerned about family in other parts of the island.

"At one point the phones failed - it was impossible to make cell phone calls on the island for about an hour."

The earthquake occurred at 9:23am Cayman time, which is 10:23am Bermuda time.

Appleby employee Tanya Kozak recently moved to the Cayman Islands, after working at the firm's Bermuda office from September 2007 to March 2009.

Ms Kozak said at first, she hadn't realized it was an earthquake.

"I was walking down the hall and didn't initially feel anything," she told the Bermda Sun. "But I saw one of my colleagues sitting behind his desk with a stone expression on his face - a kind of white glaze. He said, 'I think we're having an earthquake'.

"It felt like someone was dropping things on our roof, so I said 'perhaps some guys were up there repairing the roof'.

"But everyone then proceeded to run out of the building and I realized it was an earthquake."

Ms Kozak phoned her parents to tell them she was okay: "My husband works at a private school here and they evacuated - everyone there felt the quake.

"Things are back to normal at Appleby - it almost seems as if nothing has happened."

Earthquakes in the Cayman Islands are unusual but not rare. In December 2004, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake centred just 20 miles south of George Town rattled homes and businesses here, causing some damage. In February 2007, a 6.2 magnitude earthquake was felt there even though it occurred much closer to Jamaica than Grand Cayman.

Mark Macfee, Executive Vice President of Global Directories in Cayman (part of the MediaHouse group), said he "dropped his phone and ran for it" when he felt his office building begin to shake.

"Our office is on the first floor of the two-storey building and everyone ran out pretty quickly," he said. "People were a bit concerned because unlike a hurricane, you wonder whether it is the start of more to come."

He added that people were concerned about the possibility of a tsunami after a tsunami warning was issued last week for Jamaica after Haiti's devastating earthquake.

"One guy had the back window of his car shatter," he said. "And the only other reported damage was a giant sinkhole that appeared right next to my house. I was standing on that very spot on Boxing Day."