Tsunami threat passes after strong earthquake off Central America
Story highlights
- The earthquake struck 27 miles east of Great Swan Island, Honduras
- People had been urged to seek higher ground before tsunami threat passed
(CNN)There
is no longer a tsunami threat for the Caribbean and Central America
after a magnitude-7.6 earthquake struck 27 miles (43 kilometers) off the
coast of Honduras, the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said
Wednesday.
Waves reaching 0.3 to 1 meter above the tide level had been possible, but the agency said the threat had passed.
The
earthquake struck east of Great Swan Island, Honduras, at the
relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers, the US Geological Survey
(USGS) said.
Juan Jose Reyes,
Director of Early Warning Systems of the Honduran disaster prevention
agency COPECO, had urged people from low-lying coastal areas, especially
the small offshore Islas de la Bahía islands to seek refuge,
particularly if the tide suddenly is drawn out -- a telltale sign that a
tsunami is imminent.
"If you
notice that the (sea) disappears, you have to go to (a) high place," he
said at a briefing with reporters in the capital Tegucigalpa.
"Pay
attention to the alerts, to the authorities." He said the warning was
not intended to increase panic but rather "to inform (people)
objectively so that measures can be taken."
'Check on family members'
What
appeared to be the periodic wail of a tsunami warning system was heard
throughout a 10-minute a video posted to Facebook by Edison Usher. In
the clip, Usher says he was standing near a taxi stand less than 200
meters from the shore in Belize City.
"Check on your family members that live close to the sea," he says during the video. "Don't take nothing for granted."
Other
residents of the Belizian city were evacuating to inland areas in case
the tsunami hit, Silvino Riverol, a resident of the inland town of
Orange Walk told CNN.
"They going
to Belmopan City towards the west which is high elevation and inland. I
went to try to get video of the sea but the Police stopped me from going
farther into the city."
He said that his area was not at risk but others had been advised to evacuate their homes.
"I
live in Orange Walk Town so we are safe and away from the coast. It's
mostly the folks from (Belize City) and southern coastal towns that are
being told to evacuate by NEMO (the National Emergency Management
Organization).
"My family from the city say the sea seems to be drying up. So I'm guessing that the water will return."
Tsunamis
can travel over 800 kilometers per hour (500 miles) at the deepest
point of the water, but they slow as they near the shore, eventually
hitting the shore at around 30 to 50 kph (20 to 30 mph). The energy of
the wave's speed is transferred to height and sheer force as it nears
shore.
In recent years, tsunamis have been responsible for significant numbers of deaths and environmental destruction.
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