Cayman Islands Earthquake Shakes Region Still Further

The Cayman Islands were hit by 5.8-magnitude earthquake which struck Tuesday at 9:23 AM EST. The quake's epicenter was 40 miles form the capital, George Town at a depth of 6.2 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The Cayman Islands earthquake is just the latest in the Caribbean Region, which is still recovering from the Haiti earthquake of a week ago.

On Monday, a 6.0 earthquake hit Guatemala and parts of El Salvador. In that earthquake, however, no damage was reported. At this time there have been no reports of more than minor damage or any injuries in the Cayman Island earthquake event.

The Cayman Islands are a three-island chain in the Caribbean. George Town is on the western shore of Grand Cayman Island. The other islands are Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, and they are located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica.

A tsunami alert was briefly issued and then canceled after the Cayman Islands earthquake struck. Prior to this one, the last earthquake to hit the Caymans was on December 14, 2004. That was a 6.8 magnitude earthquake just three months after the Cayman Islands were devastated by Hurricane Ivan. The 2004 quake itself did little damage, however.

All of these recent quakes have struck on or near the fault which lies between the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates. The Cayman Islands earthquake was at the approximate depth as the Haiti quake. However, the fault which affected Haiti runs right through the island. The Cayman Islands are a British overseas territory.

Written by Michael Santo
HULIQ.com

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