Antigua and Barbuda: Earthquake topples grocery shelves, disrupts businesses

Antigua and Barbuda: A 6.1 earthquake affected small businesses and grocery items  from shelves in Antigua and Barbuda on Sunday morning. Residents experienced jolts from a strong, shallow quake which disrupted activities, as grocery items, including bottles of liquor and stacked goods were toppled from shelves.

Several images and videos are getting viral from Epicurean Supermarket off Friars Hill Road, showing spilt content from bottles which fell from shelves. There were similar scenes at other supermarkets and wholesale outlets.

There have been no preliminary reports from disaster officials of structural damage across the nation, but assessments will continue.

In addition to that, the operators of ZPZ supermarket have temporarily closed the establishment following an earthquake which sent items crashing from shelves and caused minor ceiling damage Saturday morning.

A widely circulated video shows items strewn on the floor of the establishment and dislodged ceiling tiles. There have been no reports of injuries. Other supermarkets nationwide are also carrying out clean-up after items toppled from shelves.

A 6.1 magnitude earthquake jolted Antigua and Barbuda and several other islands in the Eastern Caribbean archipelago at 10:50am Saturday.

Latest reports from the United States Geological Survey and University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre confirm the magnitude of the earthquake was 6.1, a revision from the 6.5 the SRC had earlier indicated.

The quake is the latest stark reminder of the region’s vulnerability to seismic activity.

According to the met department, Sunny, hazy and at times breezy to windy conditions will be interrupted by partly cloudy intervals with isolated showers. There is a low (30%) chance of the isolated heavy shower/thunderstorm near the Leewards.

Nighttime will be mostly fair but hazy despite isolated showers. Gusty winds are likely in/near showers and the concentration of Saharan dust is expected to fluctuate between mild to moderate. All these conditions are due to the upcoming Atlantic Hurricane Season 2026/2027.