Washington [US], February 9: A powerful 7.6 magnitude earthquake in the Caribbean Sea Saturday night, north of Honduras and southwest of the Cayman Islands, briefly triggered tsunami alerts that were later lifted.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the earthquake occurred at around 6:23 p.m. Eastern Time, with an epicentre about 129 miles southwest of George Town, the capital of the Cayman Islands, and 372 miles west of Kingston, Jamaica.
A short time later, the U.S. National Tsunami Warning Centre issued a tsunami advisory for Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands. The advisory for those islands was later cancelled.
The warning centre also reported what it described as a "tsunami threat" for Cuba, Honduras and the Cayman Islands. However, it announced later Saturday night that based on "the latest modeling and information, the tsunami threat has passed" for the entire region.
Source: Emirates News Agency
