Tsunami advisory canceled for USVI and Puerto Rico after magnitude-7.6 earthquake in the Caribbean

Tsunami advisory canceled for USVI and Puerto Rico after magnitude-7.6 earthquake in the Caribbean

KINGSTON — An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 occurred on Saturday in the Caribbean Sea, according to the US Geological Survey, sparking a tsunami advisory.

The tremor hit 129 miles southwest of Georgetown, Cayman Islands, at 6.23 p.m. ET Saturday, the USGS reported.

The U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center (NWTC) initially said there was a tsunami threat to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Residents in those places were advised to move out of the water, off the beach and away from harbors, marinas, bays and inlets, and not go to shore to observe the tsunami.

The center later canceled the advisory for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, but said advisories were still in place for Cuba – where tsunami waves of between 1 and 3 meters above tide level are possible – and Honduras and the Cayman Islands, where waves of 30 centimeters to 1 meter above tide level are possible.

These waves are expected between 8 p.m. ET and 10:30 p.m. ET.

By CNN