Was earthquake near Cayman Islands caught on camera underwater? Viral post explored as Tsunami alerts cancelled 

A 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit the Caribbean Sea south of the Cayman Islands on Saturday evening, followed by temporary tsunami warnings for several bordering regions.

While there were swift emergency responses, the alerts were later canceled. Social media has been buzzing with talk about an alleged underwater video showing the earthquake in real-time.

The earthquake struck at 6:23 p.m. local time at a depth of 10 kilometers, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, or USGS. Its epicenter was about 130 miles (209 kilometers) southwest of George Town, Cayman Islands.

Due to the strength of the earthquake, initial tsunami warnings were issued for Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Cuba, and parts of Central America. The US National Tsunami Warning Center warned residents in low-lying areas to head inland and to higher ground.

Wave heights were reported from 0.3 to 1 meter at some spots, while in Cuba, the authorities reported waves of up to three meters (10 feet). But after hours of closely tracking the situation, officials declared that if any additional sea level disturbances were to occur, they would be minor.

In the aftermath of the earthquake, posts circulated on social media saying that an underwater camera had caught the tsunami.

The reported footage, widely circulated on X, Facebook, and TikTok, allegedly captures seabed disturbances, marine life abruptly reacting, and sediment being pushed upwards by the violent seismic activity.

Image and video of alleged destruction due to a volcanic eruption have taken the internet by storm but no such footage has been verified by official sources like the USGS, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), or even geological agencies in the Caribbean.

Some internet users were quick to point out that the video was indeed old and did not belong to the current disaster. The video was supposedly filmed in 2023 by a group of deep-sea divers in the Banda Sea, Indonesia.

Let's know more about tsunamis and what causes them

Tsunamis are most often caused by violent underwater earthquakes that move large amounts of water. When the seabed suddenly shifts due to seismic activity, waves form and travel from that point at high speeds.

Other causes include underwater volcanic eruptions, landslides, and even meteorite impacts, which can quickly displace water and generate massive waves.

As tsunamis reach shallow coastal waters, they slow down and increase in height, often causing widespread inundation and destruction. They travel with high speed and carry enormous amounts of energy across the ocean basins, making them among the most devastating natural disasters to coastal areas (NOAA).

Seismic waves generated by underwater quakes are detected by a network of monitoring systems that can accurately read ground and water displacement.