officials said.Despite assurances that there was no threat of a tsunami

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GEORGE TOWN (Cayman Islands) – A 5.8-Magnitude earthquake shook the Cayman Islands yesterday, US geologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.Frantic locals poured out of buildings into the streets after homes and office buildings took a solid jolt.‘It really shook me right through to the soul of my body,’ one government employee told AFP. Tremors were felt across most of the island. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake, with a depth of some 10km (6 miles), struck the Caribbean island at 1423 GMT (10.23pm Singapore time).McClearly Frederick with Hazard Management Cayman Islands said, however, it was not considered a major temblor.‘No injuries have been reported and there have been no reports of damage to buildings. Business and schools have remained open and residents have resumed their normal daily routines,’ the department of tourism said in a statement.The quake was centered in the Caribbean Sea about 40 miles east-southeast of the capital, George Town, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.The government fielded about 100 emergency calls from islanders, some of whom evacuated buildings and wondered if it was safe to go back inside, said Emergency Communications Center manager Brent Finster.The earthquake also slightly disrupted phone service.In the Turks and Caicos Islands, 560 miles to the northeast, scores of parents worried about a possible tsunami rushed to pick their children up from schools, officials said.Despite assurances that there was no threat of a tsunami, some Haitian parents insisted on taking their children home, saying they had already lost loved ones in last week’s 7.0-magnitude earthquake that killed an estimated 200,000 people in Haiti.“I hear that there is an earthquake threat, and I am not leaving here until I get my children,” said Sonson Jean, who has two sons attending a local high school.The Cayman’s last quake, which registered 6.8 magnitude, occurred in December 2004. The USGS said the quake, one of several to hit South America and the Caribbean in recent days, struck some 52km east-south-east of Bodden Town on Grand Cayman.