MEXICO CITY (AP) — A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck in the Caribbean Sea between the coast of Honduras and the Cayman Islands on Tuesday night.

There were no early reports of damage on land. Tsunami warning centers said no tsunami waves had been confirmed but stress that people in Puerto Rico, other Caribbean islands and the coast of Central America should be alert to the danger of possible tsunami.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at a preliminary magnitude of 7.6. The tremor struck in the sea about 125 miles (202 kilometers) north-northeast of Barra Patuca, Honduras, and 188 miles (303 kilometers) southwest of George Town, Cayman Islands. The tremor occurred about 6 miles (10 kilometers) below the surface.

The northern coast of Honduras closest to the quake’s epicenter is sparsely populated, with much of it covered by nature reserves. Some people in the capital of Tegucigalpa said they did not feel the tremor.

President Juan Orlando Hernandez via Twitter said that Honduras had activated its emergency system and asked people to remain calm.

In the Cayman Islands, Sgt. Dave McKay with Royal Cayman Islands Police told The Associated Press that hazard management officials had not issued a tsunami alert but authorities were monitoring the situation.*

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

For more on this story go to: http://www.kusi.com/magnitude-7-6-earthquake-strikes-caribbean-sea-between-coast-of-honduras-and-cayman-islands/

*EDITOR: Hazard Management officials DID issue “An Information Statement … regarding a possible tsunami threat for the Cayman Islands, following an EARTHQUAKE OF MAGNITUDE 7.6, 30 miles off the north coast of Honduras” at 10:46PM Tue 9 Jan 2018. The All Clear was issued at 12.01 AM Wed Jan 10.

Related story:

TSUNAMI MESSAGE NUMBER 2
NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI
0323 UTC WED JAN 10 2018

…TSUNAMI THREAT MESSAGE…

**** NOTICE **** NOTICE **** NOTICE **** NOTICE **** NOTICE *****

THIS MESSAGE IS ISSUED FOR INFORMATION ONLY IN SUPPORT OF THE
UNESCO/IOC TSUNAMI AND OTHER COASTAL HAZARDS WARNING SYSTEM FOR
THE CARIBBEAN AND ADJACENT REGIONS AND IS MEANT FOR NATIONAL
AUTHORITIES IN EACH COUNTRY OF THAT SYSTEM.

NATIONAL AUTHORITIES WILL DETERMINE THE APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF
ALERT FOR EACH COUNTRY AND MAY ISSUE ADDITIONAL OR MORE REFINED
INFORMATION.

**** NOTICE **** NOTICE **** NOTICE **** NOTICE **** NOTICE *****

NOTE EARTHQUAKE MAGNITUDE DECREASED TO 7.6 FROM 7.8.

PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE PARAMETERS
———————————

* MAGNITUDE 7.6
* ORIGIN TIME 0252 UTC JAN 10 2018
* COORDINATES 17.5 NORTH 83.6 WEST
* DEPTH 33 KM / 20 MILES
* LOCATION NORTH OF HONDURAS

EVALUATION
———-

* AN EARTHQUAKE WITH A PRELIMINARY MAGNITUDE OF 7.6 OCCURRED
NORTH OF HONDURAS AT 0252 UTC ON WEDNESDAY JANUARY 10 2018.

* BASED ON ALL AVAILABLE DATA… HAZARDOUS TSUNAMI WAVES ARE
FORECAST FOR SOME COASTS.

TSUNAMI THREAT FORECAST…UPDATED
———————————

* TSUNAMI WAVES REACHING 0.3 TO 1 METERS ABOVE THE TIDE LEVEL
ARE POSSIBLE FOR SOME COASTS OF

BELIZE… CUBA… HONDURAS… MEXICO… CAYMAN ISLANDS…
AND JAMAICA.

* ACTUAL AMPLITUDES AT THE COAST MAY VARY FROM FORECAST
AMPLITUDES DUE TO UNCERTAINTIES IN THE FORECAST AND LOCAL
FEATURES. IN PARTICULAR MAXIMUM TSUNAMI AMPLITUDES ON ATOLLS
OR SMALL ISLANDS AND AT LOCATIONS WITH FRINGING OR BARRIER
REEFS WILL LIKELY BE MUCH SMALLER THAN THE FORECAST
INDICATES.

* FOR ALL OTHER AREAS COVERED BY THIS MESSAGE… THERE IS NO
TSUNAMI THREAT ALTHOUGH SMALL SEA LEVEL CHANGES MAY OCCUR.

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
——————-

* GOVERNMENT AGENCIES RESPONSIBLE FOR THREATENED COASTAL AREAS
SHOULD TAKE ACTION TO INFORM AND INSTRUCT ANY COASTAL
POPULATIONS AT RISK IN ACCORDANCE WITH THEIR OWN
EVALUATION… PROCEDURES AND THE LEVEL OF THREAT.

* PERSONS LOCATED IN THREATENED COASTAL AREAS SHOULD STAY ALERT
FOR INFORMATION AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS FROM NATIONAL AND
LOCAL AUTHORITIES.

ESTIMATED TIMES OF ARRIVAL
————————–

* ESTIMATED TIMES OF ARRIVAL -ETA- OF THE INITIAL TSUNAMI WAVE
FOR PLACES WITHIN THREATENED REGIONS ARE GIVEN BELOW. ACTUAL
ARRIVAL TIMES MAY DIFFER AND THE INITIAL WAVE MAY NOT BE THE
LARGEST. A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF WAVES AND THE TIME BETWEEN
WAVES CAN BE FIVE MINUTES TO ONE HOUR.

LOCATION REGION COORDINATES ETA(UTC)
————————————————————
GRAND CAYMAN CAYMAN ISLANDS 19.3N 81.3W 0323 01/10
CAYMAN BRAC CAYMAN ISLANDS 19.7N 79.9W 0328 01/10
PUERTO CORTES HONDURAS 15.9N 88.0W 0342 01/10
COZUMEL MEXICO 20.5N 87.0W 0344 01/10
CIENFUEGOS CUBA 22.0N 80.5W 0346 01/10
SANTIAGO D CUBA CUBA 19.9N 75.8W 0354 01/10
MONTEGO BAY JAMAICA 18.5N 77.9W 0404 01/10
TRUJILLO HONDURAS 15.9N 86.0W 0428 01/10
KINGSTON JAMAICA 17.9N 76.9W 0443 01/10
BELIZE CITY BELIZE 17.5N 88.2W 0452 01/10
SANTA CRZ D SUR CUBA 20.7N 78.0W 0636 01/10
NUEVA GERONA CUBA 21.9N 82.8W 0722 01/10

POTENTIAL IMPACTS
—————–

* A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF WAVES. THE TIME BETWEEN WAVE CRESTS
CAN VARY FROM 5 MINUTES TO AN HOUR. THE HAZARD MAY PERSIST
FOR MANY HOURS OR LONGER AFTER THE INITIAL WAVE.

* IMPACTS CAN VARY SIGNIFICANTLY FROM ONE SECTION OF COAST TO
THE NEXT DUE TO LOCAL BATHYMETRY AND THE SHAPE AND ELEVATION
OF THE SHORELINE.

* IMPACTS CAN ALSO VARY DEPENDING UPON THE STATE OF THE TIDE AT
THE TIME OF THE MAXIMUM TSUNAMI WAVES.

* PERSONS CAUGHT IN THE WATER OF A TSUNAMI MAY DROWN… BE
CRUSHED BY DEBRIS IN THE WATER… OR BE SWEPT OUT TO SEA.

NEXT UPDATE AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
————————————–

* THE NEXT MESSAGE WILL BE ISSUED IN ONE HOUR… OR SOONER IF
THE SITUATION WARRANTS.

* AUTHORITATIVE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EARTHQUAKE FROM THE U.S.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CAN BE FOUND ON THE INTERNET AT
EARTHQUAKE.USGS.GOV/EARTHQUAKES -ALL IN LOWERCASE LETTERS-.

* FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THIS EVENT MAY BE FOUND AT
PTWC.WEATHER.GOV AND AT WWW.TSUNAMI.GOV.

* COASTAL REGIONS OF THE US GULF COAST… US EAST COAST… AND
THE MARITIME PROVINCES OF CANADA SHOULD REFER TO U.S.
NATIONAL TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER MESSAGES THAT CAN BE FOUND
AT NTWC.ARH.NOAA.GOV.

SOURCE: http://ptwc.weather.gov/text.php?id=caribe.TSUCAX.2018.01.10.0325