Honduras Earthquake Prompts Tsunami Warnings

A magnitude 7.3 earthquake, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colorado lists it as a 7.1), struck the Caribbean Sea floor near Honduras early this morning prompting tsunami warnings for Honduras, Belize and Guatemala. The quake struck at 3:24 a.m. 80 miles north-northeast of Le Ceiba, Honduras with a depth of 6 miles, killing at least one person. The epicenter was 200 miles north-northeast of Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has issued an official announcement:

A DESTRUCTIVE WIDESPREAD TSUNAMI THREAT DOES NOT EXIST BASED ON HISTORICAL EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI DATA.

HOWEVER - THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF A LOCAL TSUNAMI THAT COULD AFFECT COASTS LOCATED USUALLY NO MORE THAN A HUNDRED KILOMETERS FROM THE EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER. AUTHORITIES FOR THE REGION NEAR THE EPICENTER SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS POSSIBILITY. AREAS FURTHER FROM THE EPICENTER COULD EXPERIENCE SMALL SEA
LEVEL CHANGES AND STRONG OR UNUSUAL COASTAL CURRENTS.

ESTIMATED INITIAL TSUNAMI WAVE ARRIVAL TIMES AT FORECAST POINTS WITHIN THE WARNING AND WATCH AREAS ARE GIVEN BELOW. ACTUAL ARRIVAL TIMES MAY DIFFER AND THE INITIAL WAVE MAY NOT BE THE LARGEST. A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF WAVES AND THE TIME BETWEEN SUCCESSIVE WAVES CAN BE FIVE MINUTES TO ONE HOUR.

LOCATION FORECAST POINT COORDINATES ARRIVAL TIME
——————————– ———— ————
HONDURAS PUERTO CORTES 15.9N 88.0W 0848Z 28 MAY
TRUJILLO 15.9N 86.0W 0856Z 28 MAY
BELIZE BELIZE CITY 17.5N 88.2W 0908Z 28 MAY
GUATEMALA PUERTO BARRIOS 15.7N 88.6W 0919Z 28 MAY

All times are Greenwich Mean which means they already passed without incident.

Image [AFP]