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.
The NWS has confirmed that small tsunami waves have been detected.
Feb. 8, 2025, Caribbean Sea earthquake – Baron
“Earthquakes of this size are known to generate tsunamis dangerous to shorelines near the source,” the NWS said in one of its statements.
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 coast of the Cayman Islands and Honduras.
Cuba, Cayman Islands possible tsunami wave height – Feb. 8, 2025
Tsunami advisories were issued for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, but were lifted soon after.
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.
