Magnitude 6.1 earthquake hits eastern Caribbean

MIAMI, Feb. 4 (Reuters) A strong earthquake struck the eastern Caribbean, according to the U S Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center.

The 6.1 magnitude earthquake occurred 119 km north-northwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and 157 km southwest of Manzanillo, Cuba yesterday afternoon, the U S agency said.

The quake was felt in Jamaica and in Cuba, on the southern coast of the eastern provinces of Granma and Santiago, but there were no reports of damage or injuries.

''It was mild, the earth shook a bit. People who were walking did not even feel it,'' said Moraima, a receptionist at a hotel in the town of Niquero.

''The floor started moving and it felt as if I had been drinking rum,'' said housewife Yolanda in Santiago, Cuba's second-largest city. No damage was reported in the area.

Jamaica felt the quake too, said Ronald Jackson, acting director general of Jamaica's Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, who located its epicenter in the Cayman Trench.

''Almost the entire island felt it,'' he said, adding the area around Montego Bay, the heart of Jamaica's tourism industry, felt the most significant tremors.

''We have not picked up any damage reports at this time,'' Jackson added.

REUTERS SRS BST0414