A very strong 6.7 earthquake struck the Bouvet Island region in the Southern Atlantic Ocean, prompting the National Weather Service’s Tsunami Warning Center to analyze tsunami risks to the United States. A short time ago, the Tsunami Warning Center (TWC) released a statement saying, “There is no tsunami danger for the US East Coast, the Gulf of Mexico states, or the eastern coast of Canada.” An earlier statement also said the Caribbean was not at risk. The assessment by the TWC is based on earthquake information and historic tsunami records.

The earthquake, which ocurred at 2:54pm ET, struck 6 miles deep in the Bouvet Island region. With the epicenter at 54.2 South, 8.9 East, the 6.7 quake struck  roughly halfway between South Africa and Antarctica.  The Atlantic south of Africa is sometimes rattled by moderate earthquakes, but tremors exceeding magnitude 6 are rare. Strong earthquakes in the North or South Atlantic could trigger tsunamis in either basin, but that is not expected to happen this time from this quake.