Strong and deadly earthquakes in the Caribbean; There is no tsunami threat at the moment

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A pair of strong earthquakes hit western Haiti today, killing at least one person. Photo: USGS

Four moderate to strong earthquakes struck western Haiti today, killing at least one person and injuring several others; However, at this time, there does not appear to be a tsunami risk from these earthquakes across the Caribbean, the Bahamas, or the eastern coast of the United States at this time. An earthquake of magnitude 5.3, 4.4, 5.1, and 4.3 struck within a two-hour window today near Anse-a-Vau and Petite Rivière-de-Nice, Haiti.

Reuters reported that one person was killed, several people were injured, and several homes were destroyed around Fond de Nijer in the province of Nippes.

Today’s series of earthquakes follows a 4.3-magnitude earthquake that hit northwest Haiti yesterday. It also comes after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit the same Tiburon Peninsula on August 14 last year. The earthquake killed more than 2,200 people and injured more than 12,000. The 2021 earthquake caused a slight regional tsunami.

It seems that today’s earthquakes were not strong enough to generate a tsunami. The earthquake that struck northwest Puerto Rico yesterday, approximately 400 miles east-northeast of today’s earthquakes in Haiti, has struck the National Weather Service’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (NWS-PTWC) in Honolulu, Hawaii, to release a bulletin. At 7:53 PM ET last night, a magnitude 4 earthquake struck approximately 28 miles northwest of San Antonio, Puerto Rico at a depth of 10 km. But as with today’s earthquake, there was no danger of a tsunami.

“Based on all available data, there is no tsunami risk for Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, or the British Virgin Islands from this earthquake,” NWS-PTWC said in its last night’s post. They added that people may have been shaken by the earthquake.

The NWS-PTWC wrote: “This will be the only statement issued for this event unless additional data is received or the situation changes.” “Information regarding any tsunami threat to the US Atlantic Gulf coast will be released by the US National Tsunami Warning Center.”

No bulletin was issued by the tsunami warning centers today, although the earthquakes in Haiti were much stronger than yesterday’s Puerto Rican earthquake.

Severe earthquakes are not unusual for Haiti. A devastating 7.0 earthquake struck 16 miles west of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, in 2010. According to the Haitian government, approximately 220,000-316,000 people were killed while 250,000 homes and 30,000 businesses collapsed or were severely damaged. In all, nearly 3 million people were directly affected by this earthquake.

These earthquakes occur near the northern edge of the Caribbean Plate, which is a predominantly oceanic tectonic plate that lies under Central America and the Caribbean Sea off the northern coast of South America. The Caribbean Plate borders the North American Plate, the South American Plate, the Nazca Plate, and the Cocos Plate. These plate boundaries are home to ongoing seismic activity, including frequent earthquakes, occasional tsunamis, and sometimes volcanic eruptions.

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