Powerful earthquake strikes Caribbean Sea, tsunami advisories issued

A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, about 200 km south of the Cayman Islands on Feb. 8, 2025.

The powerful quake, which struck 10 km below the Earth’s surface, prompted the National Weather Service (NWS) Tsunami Warning System to issue tsunami alerts for coastal regions of the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Cuba, Mexico, Honduras, Bahamas, San Andres and Providencia, Belize, Haiti, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, and Guatemala.

Many of the alerts have since been dropped, but tsunami waves 1-3 metres above tide level are possible along parts of Cuba’s coast, and tsunami waves reaching 0.3-1 metre above tide level are possible along parts of the coasts of the Cayman Islands and Honduras.

Tsunami advisories have also been issued for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

“Earthquakes of this size are known to generate tsunamis dangerous to shorelines near the source,” the NWS said in one of its statements.

“The earliest estimated time that hazardous sea level fluctuations and strong ocean currents may begin in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands is 9:46 p.m. AST on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025,” the NWS later added.

Any possible waves that do make it to shore for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, however, are forecast to remain under 30 cm in height.

Luckily, since the earthquake was so offshore, there has been no immediate damage or injuries.

There is no tsunami threat to the Gulf of Mexico or the Eastern Seaboard.