7.6 Magnitude Earthquake Triggers Tsunami Warning for Belize and Caribbean

A tsunami warning was triggered in the Caribbean including Belize on Saturday evening after an earthquake was registered 130 miles southwest of George Town, Cayman Islands.  The National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) issued the warning noting that the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale at around six in the evening, with a depth of 20 miles. NEMO’s Coordinator Daniel Mendez explained that many areas of the country did not feel any tremors while some did report a notable tremble.  He noted that tsunami warnings are not a common occurrence in Belize, but NEMO still had to take the matter seriously due to warnings from its regional counterparts. 

Daniel Mendez, National Emergency Coordinator, NEMO: “We had received information from our coordinators across the country and some of our coordinators did report that they experienced it and others didn’t and so we currently haven’t been able to completely finish exactly where it was felt but it was primarily the southern part f the country did not report any shaking but in parts like San Ignacio and Belmopan the coordinators did report that they did experience. So it seems to have been a range of areas that felt the impact and not the entire country. It was significant enough for the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center to issue a tsunami advisory. And so while we as a different part of the country and some didn’t it was important enough for the advisory to be put out not only for Belize but for many parts of the Caribbean as well. It is one of those areas that we haven’t been able to provide as much information to the public as we had wanted in the past. We do have a program that we will be releasing very soon in letting people know what to do in the event that one of these happens. We’re also in the process of revising our national plan and in order for us to be better able to coordinate among all of the necessary bodies who are responsible for this and so there is going to be more information coming out to the public and more training will be provided as well.”

Reactions in Belize City varied. Some residents say they had no idea there was an earthquake, while others say they felt it and saw the evidence of tremors in their homes and workplaces.  Our news team was out this afternoon to speak with some of those residents.

Countries such as Nicaragua, Cuba, and Jamaica also felt the tremors of the earthquake.