Several major quakes, centering under the sea just north of the Honduras Bay Islands, shook much of coastal Belize last night. There was more damage in Honduras, where several people (maybe more) died from collapsed homes. The ensuing tsunami threat was lifted this morning. Central America is riddled with major geologic fault lines (Belize is one of the only countries in the region without any volcanoes); but earthquakes are rare in Belize.

Seems like the extent of the damage in Belize is still unknown. Any reports would be much appreciated in the comments below. In the meantime, here are some links to find out more about last night’s events:

USGS site for earthquake M7.1

BBC: “Major Quake….”

Real-time message-board reports

— by Joshua Berman, author of Moon Belize

Tags: belize earthquake nature honduras incidents breaking news