A powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake has struck the Caribbean Sea triggering tsunami warnings for a number of countries, the US Geological Survey has said.
Officials say the earthquake’s epicentre is about 20 miles (32.1km) north of Honduras and 130 miles (209.2km) south-west of the Cayman Islands.
A number of tsunami alerts have been issued for the region including the coast of Colombia, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Cuba.
The National Weather Service has warned of potential hazards for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands adding: “Strong currents and waves dangerous to those in or very near water”.
The USGS said large earthquakes at this location of the plate boundary are not unexpected.
In 2018 a 7.5-magnitude earthquake occurred nearby, causing some damage and a small tsunami, it said.
“Luckily, the remote location of these earthquakes limits the potential for significant damage due to shaking,” it added.
