2018 Swan Islands earthquake

On 9 January 2018, at approximately 8:51 p.m. local time (02:51 10 January UTC), a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck in the Yucatán Basin of the Caribbean Sea, 44 kilometres (27 mi) east of Great Swan Island off the coast of Honduras.[1] The earthquake was felt across Central America, and rattled windows in Tegucigalpa. [2] The earthquake was also felt in the Cayman Islands. [3]

2018 Swan Islands earthquake
Belmopan
Tegucigalpa
UTC time2018-01-10 02:51:33
ISC event611634051
USGS-ANSSComCat
Local dateJanuary 9, 2018 (2018-01-09)
Local time08:51:31 PM CST
Magnitude7.5 Mww
Depth10 kilometres (6 mi)
Epicenter17.469°N 83.520°W / 17.469; -83.520
TypeStrike-slip
Areas affectedHonduras
Guatemala
Belize
Cayman Islands
Max. intensityV (Moderate)
CasualtiesNone
Shakemap of the earthquake

Tsunami advisories were issued for certain areas by the U.S. Tsunami Warning Center. They were later cancelled after further monitoring.[4] No tsunami was generated since the earthquake was an almost pure strike-slip on a near vertical plane, producing little upward movement of the sea floor that would cause a large displacement of water.[5]

Earthquake

The earthquake occurred at a depth of around 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) on a transform fault zone known as the Swan Islands Transform Fault in the Cayman Trough, where it forms part of the boundary between the North American Plate and the Caribbean Plate.[1] The area just to the west also produced a large earthquake in 2009 that measured 7.3 on the moment magnitude scale.[6]

See also

References
  1. "M 7.5 – 44km E of Great Swan Island, Honduras". United States Geological Survey. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  2. Palencia, Gustavo (9 January 2018). "Strong quake in Caribbean Sea shakes Honduras, Mexico and Belize, no tsunami". Reuters. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  3. https://www.caymancompass.com/2018/01/10/earthquake-sparks-tsunami-scare/
  4. "Magnitude 7.6 quake hits in Caribbean north of Honduras". Associated Press. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  5. . "2018 Swan Islands earthquake tsunami". Stack Exchange Network. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  6. Graham, Shannon E.; Demets, Charles; Deshon, Heather R.; Rogers, Robert; Maradiaga, Manuel Rodriguez; Strauch, Wilfried; Wiese, Klaus; Hernandez, Douglas (2012). "GPS and seismic constraints on the M = 7.3 2009 Swan Islands earthquake: Implications for stress changes along the Motagua fault and other nearby faults". Geophysical Journal International. 190 (3): 1625–1639. Bibcode:2012GeoJI.190.1625G. doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2012.05560.x.
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