A huge earthquake measuring 7.6 struck off the coast of Barra Patuca in Honduras late Tuesday. The tremor had a depth of 10 kilometers, reports stated. Neighbors Belize and the Cayman Islands experienced a small increase in waves, prior to previously issued tsunami warnings have been lifted.
Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez had posted, on Twitter, that emergency system had been activated while asking that people remain calm.
The tremor's epicenter was 202 kilometers north-northeast of the Central American country and 303 kilometers southwest of the Cayman Islands, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) stated.
Ante la ocurrencia de un #Sismo lo primordial es guardar la calma y ubicar las salidas de emergencia, recuerda que los #Sismos no se pueden predecir pero sí nos podemos preparar. #CulturaDePrevención pic.twitter.com/xQG9LC2JeJ
— COPECOHONDURAS (@COPECO_HONDURAS) January 10, 2018
Sgt. Dave McKay of the Royal Cayman Islands Police told The Associated Press that hazard management officials had not issued a tsunami alert, but authorities were monitoring the situation.
National Tsunami Warning Center said no waves had been confirmed but recommended high alert for the coasts of Central American countries Nicaragua, Panama, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras, and various islands in the Caribbean, including the Cayman Islands, Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Belize, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica and Cuba among them.
There have been no reports of injuries, so far, but Reuters stated that structural damage was observed in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The powerful tremor was revised down from 7.8.