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Source: The Mirror USA
Date: February 10, 2025
The quake struck an area close to the secretive military testing base in Nevada, which has long attracted conspiracies and rumors about its alleged links to UFOs and aliens.
An earthquake has hit a secret military testing base near Las Vegas after a gigantic tremor sparked tsunami warnings in the Caribbean.
The United States Geological Survey said there was a 2.8 magnitude shake near the highly classified Area 51 base in Nevada. The agency revealed the quake's epicenter was East of Amargosa Valley, around 50 miles from the United States Air Force facility, infamous for conspiracies concerning its connection with aliens and UFOs.
It's not known if the relatively minor tremor caused any structural damage to the base, which has a roughly 11-mile perimeter that prevents anyone from accessing it without high-level clearance. Nevada itself is prone to earthquakes and experiences tens of thousands of micro tremors every year, according to Shakeout. A 2.5 to 5.4 magnitude earthquake is "often felt, but only causes minor damage," says Michigan Technological University.
It comes after a magnitude-7.6 earthquake shook the Caribbean Sea south of the Cayman Islands on Saturday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Several islands and countries had urged people near the coastline to move inland but authorities in most places later lifted the tsunami alerts.
The quake struck at 6:23 p.m. local time in the middle of the sea and had a depth of 10 kilometers, the USGS said. Its epicenter was located 130 miles (209 kilometers) south-southwest of George Town in the Cayman Islands. The U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami alert for the U.S. mainland. Still, it issued a tsunami advisory for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which was later canceled.
Hazard Management Cayman Islands urged residents near the coast to move inland and to higher ground, warning that wave heights of 0.3 to 1 meter were expected. The Cayman Islands government later issued on “all clear” on its Facebook site.
Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González Colón said in a statement that she was in contact with emergency agencies after the tsunami advisory, but did not recommend anyone leave the coast. The sounding of alarms in Puerto Rico’s northwest region had caused people to leave coastal areas and caused heavy traffic, according to local media.
The Dominican government also issued a tsunami alert and recommended residents on the coast move to high areas “of more than 20 meters of altitude and 2 kilometers inland.” But it later canceled the alert. Honduran authorities said there were no immediate reports of damages, but urged its residents to stay away from beaches.
The Cuban government requested people to leave beachfront areas. The U.S. government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration later said: “tsunami waves reaching 1 to 3 meters above the tide level are possible along some coasts of Cuba.”