Massive quake between 7.6 and 7.8 magnitude hits Honduras; tsunami expected in Caribbean islands

A massive earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck north of Honduras in the Caribbean Sea on Tuesday, sparking a tsunami warning in the area, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. However, other reports suggest that the magnitude of the quake is 7.6

According to AccuWeather's Twitter account, 'hazardous' tsunami waves were likely to hit anything withing 1,000-kilometres from the epicentre. "This includes some coastal areas of Jamaica, Mexico, Cuba, Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, Cayman Islands, Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands."

#BREAKING: 7.8 magnitude #earthquake shakes off the southern coast of Cuba in the Caribbean Sea, according to the @USGS. Hazardous #tsunami waves may be possible within 1000 km (621.371 miles) of the epicenter. pic.twitter.com/L67JjpdVXO

— AccuWeather (@breakingweather) January 10, 2018

Reports also said that the earthquake was approximately over 200 kilometres from Brus Laguna. 

The country witnessed a similar earthquake in 2009 when a 7.3 magnitude quake killed at least seven people, caused 40 injuries, and destroyed and damaged at least 130 buildings across the northern part of the country.

That quake's epicenter was located in the Caribbean Sea, 64 kilometres (40 mi) northeast of the island of Roatán, 19 miles northeast of Port Royal.  It was a result of left-lateral strike slip faulting. The Cayman Trench forms the tectonic boundary between the North American Plate and the Caribbean Plate, and continues onshore as the Motagua Fault and the Chixoy-Polochic Fault.