Major but brief earthquake triggers tsunami warning
(CNS): A very brief earthquake more than 200 kilometres off the southwest coast of Grand Cayman in very deep waters triggered a tsunami warning on Saturday. Despite registering a magnitude of over 7.6, it was under some of the deepest water in the world and far enough away not to cause any issues in the Cayman Islands. While there were reports of some people feeling a slight tremor, no damage was reported.
This followed a smaller tremor of around 4.3 magnitude on Friday afternoon, which was considerably closer at around 63 kilometres, but that quake did not cause any damage either.
Both earthquakes serve to remind residents that we are close to the Cayman Trench, a serious fault line, and we continue to be at risk for tremors. While officials often raise the threat of tsunamis as well, because of the very deep water around us, the risk of such a devastating wave hitting the islands is small.
Speaking on Radio Cayman on Monday, Cayman Islands National Weather Service (CINWS) Director John Tibbetts explained the movement of the tectonic plates in this region and why we do not see major tsunamis after earthquakes — though it is not impossible as the conditions cannot always be predicted.
Hazard Management Cayman Islands (HMCI) Director Danielle Coleman stressed that tsunamis can happen here. While the threat is low, it’s still possible, and we all should remain aware and prepared for the natural hazards that we face in this region.
Watch Coleman and Tibbetts on Radio Cayman below:
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Category: Science & Nature
No national alerts.
No proper flood maps.
No more locals on HMCI.
(Coincidence?)
Kirkie n Donnie are doing cartwheels
Until December 2004 I don’t think many people in Cayman had even heard of a tsunami. There were occasional earthquakes, as there are now, but never a tsunami warning. Looking at the news in 2025, perhaps we should start to pay hazard management professionals to put out wildfire warnings.
I don’t think you would be making lite of this if you have ever seen a True wildfire. I have seen more than my share. I can assure you there is enough ignition source on this island it wouldn’t take long to get from one end of the island to the other in a 40 MPH wind.
Be careful when you walk outside your house. Dangerous out there.
@1:48pm Do you really not understand the point? No-one is making light of wildfires. The point is they are unlikely to occur in Cayman. Like a volcanic eruption (I’m not making light of volcanic eruptions). Or a landslide (I’m not making light of landslides) or an ice storm (I’m not making light of ice storms). Is that a bit clearer for you, or is it still bit upsetting for you?
True. I made a comment about this danger when CA was burning. No response from anyone. Residents including.
What ever became of the Earthquake alert system that the Cayman government spent millions on. This was questioned after the January 2020 quake. 4 of us were together Saturday night. Not 1 notice.
Kickbacks. How do you think Caymanian politicians make their money? It’s certainly not their intellect!
I called my friends in Cayman next morning, they were laughing. They didn’t feel it, got no notifications and some didn’t even know about the earthquake or the tsunami alert.
Maybe it is better this way since nothing they can about it.
Well scientifically speaking Cayman is far too mountainous for a tsunami to be impactful hence why migration of wildlife. Look here’s the thing I grew up in a middle class family and these tsunami save the environment need robust cognitive plan to be unburdened from what has been
“Scary” strong black woman living rent free in your head, buddy. Obviously you’re familiar with the concept of “TDS”, so hopefully you recognize that it goes both ways. Get some help.
Why doesn’t radio cayman have an app so we can follow what’s going on during emergencies such as this? The website player isn’t working on my device.
Those are in God’s Hands, while we mess up our fragile limestone bedrock with quarries on GC and Brac, and megalyth concrete buildings, and incessant numbers of egos and pocketbook of new and retired MPs on public dole!
..and remove protective Mangroves from entire SMB strip.
and appoint new foreign disaster managers who will jump on first flight out
Trust in USGS.
At least until they are defunded too.
Most of them are useless. No one could predict where Ian would hit. They were evacuating Tampa. But Ian had the mind of its own.
Schools must be closed for the rest of the week at least.
I get why we issued an alert, given the impact even though the risk is small. I don’t get why it took hours after sensible countries lifted their alerts for us to do the same.
Over time this will cause HMCI/CIG to lose credibility, which might put people at real risk in the case of future events. Remember this past summer’s extended hurricane warning for Grand Cayman that wasn’t lifted until after it had fully passed the Sister Islands?
Next time, issue the alert where prudent, and raise it in as equally expeditious manner to maintain public trust.
in a woke world…common sense is not allowed.
Define “woke” for those of us that aren’t in the loop.
One definition is “soft” as an inability to think for one’s self, and reliant on the system to provide answers, direction and protection from any and all dangers for you. There are definitions that relate to political correctness and inclusivity.
Hello to the let’s cancel woke cause we hate cancel culture group. Get a life.
ruined my Satuday night at the beach bar.
As if they have much credibility now. It’s merely a high chair organisation setup for barrister’s children to play pretend.
anon 653 please note that its the regional tsunami center that lifted the warning. And a tsunami is a series of waves not just one. moreover to figure out if the earthquake generated a tsunami the center needs to have that tsunami to hit a bouy or a country
Tsunamis production and severity is normally fairly low in the Caribeean area, but that doesn’t mean they are not registering. Tsunamis originate from water displacement events, and those can stem from shelf breaks, submarine avalanches, and rockslides over a long down-slope washout area. Mass wasting is evidenced by slump scars in the steep Cocos-Caribbean Subduction Zone. Not only are we perched at the top of a deep submarine trench with prodigious scope, but the trench is filled with a range of sub-sea mountains, some rising over 10,000 feet from the sea floor. We have barely mapped these features, let alone drilled them for a qualified understanding of their geological composition and stability. We are left to apply assumptions to fill these data gaps. We don’t know how much additional shaking force will set off an avalanche anywhere in our area, nor is there any credible early warning system. The Cayman Islands should seek to annex the Rosario and Misteriosa Banks from Honduras and set up early detection bouys there.
Excellent comment. This should have been included in the Article.
Yeah, it is either a joke or an insult to intelligence. Just like when the dump was burning in March2020, evacuate they said, but forgot to say where and how.
“I want to say how sorry I am, and the entire government is, about yet another one of these massive landfill fires,” McLaughlin said Monday afternoon at a media briefing at the landfill to update the country on the fires.
The premier, who spent five hours Sunday night and early Monday morning at the scene of the fire, summed up what he saw that night as “hell”.
].
He stressed that dealing with the landfill has been a priority for his administration [
“We have been working; we’re coming up on seven years now since we initiated this round of discussions and negotiations to get a permanent fix, at least for the next 25 to 30 years for Cayman’s solid-waste issues. It is not a simple fix, and there’s not one particular solution that will deal with it,” McLaughlin said.
Read the 5:19 comment. Hazard Management Cayman Islands won’t tell you about shelf breaks, submarine avalanches, and rockslides over a long down-slope washout area.
That’s because they are to busy making sure they are in the media loop.
do they have anyone with any science background?
Giant Underwater Avalanche Brings Devastating Power and Destruction.
https://ecomagazine.com/news/research/giant-underwater-avalanche-brings-devastating-power-and-destruction/
If technology exists to form and direct hurricanes, I bet it won’t be difficult to cause underwater avalanches.
I did not receive an audible alarm on my Lime / Android.
You need to be signed up to the At Hoc app…. Check out Hazard Management Cayman Islands for all the info.
Don’t waste your time.
But I bet you will get your monthly bill next week. That will rock you like the Asia tsunami of 2011.
I hate to complain but all the alerts and calls to go inland and to higher ground ( huh? not in Grand Cayman, bobo) were rather confusing and therefore scary.
Right, head inland into a basin so when the wave comes you’ll surely drown. Maybe better to climb a tree
Mount Trashmore?
‘out of abundance of caution’…..zzzzzzzzzzzzz
any chance that these nonsense warnings can just be directed at hysterical women?
What is wrong with you? Did your mother not love you enough?
yawn….drama makes the world go around.
two things i will never trust government with: tsunami warnings and hurricane warnings.
they have lied to us too many times in recent past and ignored common sense.
It’s too deep around Cayman for tsunami’s. Please stop spreading fear and panic whenever we have an earthquake.
I agree, they are frightening the middle aged children.
That’s funny. Try that water displacement advice with the former occupants of Mariners Cove, and they will set you straight.
There is a clear difference between storm surge and tsunamis…