Dominicans were sent into a state of panic last Sunday, November 21 when an earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale occurred about 10km north of the island. The steeple of the Roman Catholic Church in Portsmouth collapsed, reducing part of the wall adjacent to the church to rubble. {{more}} A bus filled with people who were getting ready to leave Portsmouth to attend an activity of Feast of Christ the King in St. Joseph on the west coast narrowly escaped death when the steeple crashed in front of the bus.