6.6-magnitude quake shakes NMI

Golden Harvest International School conducted an earthquake drill after yesterday morning’s 6.6-magnitude temblor. (Contributed Photo)

Commonwealth residents were in the midst of their early morning routines yesterday when a 6.6-magnitude earthquake hit the CNMI—said to be the strongest earthquake the CNMI has so far felt this year.

The temblor occurred at 8:35am yesterday, and its epicenter was located 87 miles southeast of the Farallon de Mendinilla at a depth of 32 miles.

There were no reports of injuries or property damage and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue a tsunami warning or alert.

Tinian resident and poet Joseph Connolly said he was “sitting in my kitchen having oatmeal and tea when my chair moved back and forth [and] the whole kitchen seemed to move back and forth.

“Kitchen utensils on cup hooks moved back and forth. It was for the longest duration I have ever felt in the CNMI since 1984 when I moved here from the mainland. …When I went into my bedroom to send [an] email, a cork bulletin board [that] hangs in front of my desk was still moving back and forth,” he added.

Connolly said the tremor felt like it lasted several seconds.

According to Nadine Deleon Guerrero, CNMI Homeland Security’s public relations officer, the tremor was so far the strongest earthquake felt in the CNMI in 2018.

Deleon Guerrero assured that tremors happen daily in the CNMI region but it isn’t felt due to the depth and magnitude.

When asked when the CNMI community should take action, Deleon Guerrero said evacuation is necessary once the earthquake is reported to be a magnitude 8.1 or higher or if the tremor lasts for more than 20 seconds.

Yesterday, the community responded accordingly, with government agencies and schools practicing the appropriate earthquake procedure.

Mt. Carmel School practiced its earthquake procedures by keeping students beneath their desks for the duration of the earthquake and escorting them to the designated earthquake assembly area after the tremor.

The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. also practiced earthquake procedures by evacuating the main CUC building in Dandan during the earthquake and waiting for the all-clear signal from authorities before returning to the building.

Deleon Guerrero said that Homeland Security is thankful to the cooperation shown by the CNMI community by following protocol as well as keeping themselves updated through the Homeland Security Emergency Management’s social media pages.

Deleon Guerrero added that once individuals are advised to evacuate during an earthquake, the assembly areas are located on Capital Hill, Navy Hill, and the Saipan airport field. Individuals may also evacuate to higher ground like San Vicente or Dandan.

She assured that Homeland Security will also have its app, ReadyCNMI, back up by next week for the CNMI community to easily access information from the Emergency Management Office. There were complaints yesterday that the app did not work.