2018 Swan Islands earthquake

On 9 January 2018, at approximately 8:51 p.m. local time (02:51 10 January UTC), a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck in the Yucatán Basin of the Caribbean Sea, 44 kilometres (27 mi) east of Great Swan Island off the coast of Honduras.[1] The earthquake was felt across Central America, and rattled windows in Tegucigalpa.[2] The earthquake was also felt in the Cayman Islands.[3]

2018 Swan Islands earthquake
2018 Swan Islands earthquake is located in Central America
Belmopan
Belmopan
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa
2018 Swan Islands earthquake
UTC time2018-01-10 02:51:33
ISC event611634051
USGS-ANSSComCat
Local dateJanuary 9, 2018 (2018-01-09)
Local time08:51:31 PM CST
Magnitude7.5 Mww
Depth19.0 km (11.8 mi)
Epicenter17.469°N 83.520°W / 17.469; -83.520
TypeStrike-slip
Areas affectedHonduras
Guatemala
Belize
Cayman Islands
Max. intensityVII (Very strong)
CasualtiesNone
Shakemap of the earthquake

Tsunami advisories were issued for certain areas by the U.S. Tsunami Warning Center. They were later cancelled after further monitoring.[4] No tsunami was generated since the earthquake was an almost pure strike-slip on a near vertical plane, producing little upward movement of the sea floor that would cause a large displacement of water.[5]

Earthquake

The earthquake occurred at a depth of around 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) on a transform fault zone known as the Swan Islands Transform Fault in the Cayman Trough, where it forms part of the boundary between the North American Plate and the Caribbean Plate.[1] The area just to the west also produced a large earthquake in 2009 that measured 7.3 on the moment magnitude scale.[6] According to a finite fault model created by the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake generated a maximum slip of 24 meters in a compact rupture zone. Three sub-events were discovered during the rupture process, the third of which, occurred at a velocity exceeding that of the shear wave. Propagating at 5 km/s, faster than the shear wave velocity of 4 km/s, the event is classified as a supershear earthquake.[7]

Damage

No major damage was reported. However some homes suffered cracks in walls.[8]

Tsunami

A tsunami was observed with maximum heights of 0.4 m (1.3 ft) in Roatan Island, Honduras.[9] A 0.2 m (0.66 ft) surge was observed in George Town, Cayman Islands.[9]

See also

References
  1. "M 7.5 – 44km E of Great Swan Island, Honduras". United States Geological Survey. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  2. Palencia, Gustavo (9 January 2018). "Strong quake in Caribbean Sea shakes Honduras, Mexico and Belize, no tsunami". Reuters. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  3. "Earthquake sparks tsunami scare". 11 January 2018.
  4. "Magnitude 7.6 quake hits in Caribbean north of Honduras". Associated Press. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  5. "2018 Swan Islands earthquake tsunami". Stack Exchange Network. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  6. Graham, Shannon E.; Demets, Charles; Deshon, Heather R.; Rogers, Robert; Maradiaga, Manuel Rodriguez; Strauch, Wilfried; Wiese, Klaus; Hernandez, Douglas (2012). "GPS and seismic constraints on the M = 7.3 2009 Swan Islands earthquake: Implications for stress changes along the Motagua fault and other nearby faults". Geophysical Journal International. 190 (3): 1625–1639. Bibcode:2012GeoJI.190.1625G. doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2012.05560.x.
  7. Chuang Cheng; Dun Wang (2020). "Imaging the rupture process of the 10 January 2018 MW7.5 Swan island, Honduras earthquake". Earthquake Science. 33 (4): 194–200. Bibcode:2020EaSci..33..194C. doi:10.29382/eqs-2020-0194-03. S2CID 241109747.
  8. "7.6 Honduras earthquake, a near miss". temblor.net. 10 January 2018.
  9. "Tsunami Event: HONDURAS". ngdc.noaa.gov.


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