Sunday, February 09, 2025

Magnitude 7.6 Earthquake Hits Caribbean

A magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook the Caribbean Sea southwest of Cayman Islands on Saturday, according to the US Geological Survey.

The temblor struck at a shallow depth.

Free Malaysia Today — The epicenter was reported about 209 km off the Cayman Islands. (USGS pic)

Volcano Discovery

16 hours ago

Major Magnitude 7.6 Earthquake - Honduras: 209 km SSW of George Town, Cayman Islands, on Saturday, Feb 8, 2025, at 05:23 pm (GMT -6) -

Updated: Feb 9, 2025 16:21 GMT - 1 hour 2 minutes ago refresh

A powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake occurred in the Caribbean Sea 157 km (98 mi) from Honduras in the afternoon of Saturday, Feb 8, 2025 at 5.23 pm local time (GMT -6). The quake had a very shallow depth of 10 km (6 mi) and was felt over a large region. The shallow depth of the quake caused it to be felt more strongly near the epicenter than a deeper quake of similar magnitude would.

No significant damage or impact is expected from this quake and no particular alert was issued.

Updated: Feb 9, 2025 16:21 GMT - 1 hour 2 minutes ago refresh

Impact of this earthquake: Level GREEN

Based on seismic and statistical models, USGS estimates that the risk of fatalities and damage from this earthquake is low. The main factors that contribute to this evaluation are:

The maximum expected ground shaking from this quake was unlikely to reach dangerous levels over populated areas; it should not have surpassed intensity V (Moderate) on the MMI scale significantly.
The quake appears to have occurred far from densely populated areas (far as in relation to its magnitude).

Comment

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though resistant structures exist. The predominant vulnerable building types are mud wall and adobe block construction.
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake 121 km northeast of this event struck this region on December 14, 2004 (UTC), with estimated population exposures of 136,000 at intensity IV and 42,000 at intensity VI, with no reported fatalities.
Source: USGS

Green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.

Expected fatalities

The risk of fatalities from this quake is considered low and classified as Level GREEN, the lowest on a color scale from Green (low) to Red (very high). USGS estimates that there is a 65.3% chance that there are no direct fatalities as effect of shaking and a 30.2% chance that between 1 and 10 fatalities occurred. The likelihood that there are more than 100 fatalities is less than 1%.

Expected economic damage

The economic impact of this earthquake is expected to be minimal or small (Level GREEN). Only light damage if any should have occurred. USGS calculates an 65.3% chance of total economic loss in the range of 0-1 million US Dollars and a 30.2% risk of losses between 1 and 10 million US Dollars. Total economic loss from this quake is not likely to surpass 10 million US Dollars (less than 1% chance).

Volcano Discovery

17 hours ago