A magnitude 5.4 earthquake occurred at 23:21:41 UTC on 24 January 2021, 62.5 km (38.8 mi) ESE of Road Town, British Virgin Islands; 92.3 km (57.4 mi) NE of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands and 167.3 km (104 mi) E of Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Initial estimates from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) located the epicentre of the event at 18.252°N, 64.071°W, and at a depth of 94.0 km (58.4 mi). The British Virgin Islands was the only CCRIF member country that was affected by the earthquake.
As we continue to simultaneously respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, this payout, and certainly our participation in CCRIF generally, as well as other similar facilities, reduces the need for the shifting of fiscal resources from other priority areas to respond to disasters. We know from experience of Jamaica’s susceptibility to natural disaster events including flooding, and the significant damage it can cause to our infrastructure, which is why we have implemented a multi-layer strategy with a menu of financial instruments to manage the financing of disaster risk.
