Real-time coverage of earthquake event — 70 km ESE of Codrington, Antigua and Barbuda — Pandita Data.
🌍 OPEN LIVE 3D EARTHQUAKE MAPA magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 70 km east-southeast of Codrington, Antigua and Barbuda, on May 16, 2026 at 14:50 UTC. The rupture originated at 30 km depth beneath the eastern Caribbean, a moderately shallow event capable of causing structural damage across the island nation and surrounding territories. The US Geological Survey (USGS) recorded 121 felt reports and issued a GREEN PAGER alert, indicating minimal casualties and economic loss are expected. No tsunami warning was issued by NOAA.
Antigua and Barbuda sits atop the boundary between the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates. This region experiences frequent seismic activity driven by the subduction of the Atlantic oceanic crust beneath the Caribbean Plate along the Lesser Antilles arc. The island chain itself is a volcanic arc born from this collision, with active volcanism and crustal stress accumulation. The 30 km focal depth places this event within the upper crust, where brittle rock fractures rapidly and transmits seismic waves efficiently to the surface.
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake releases approximately 1.0 × 1019 joules of energy—equivalent to 2.4 megatons of TNT. At 30 km depth, this rupture occurred in cool, rigid lithosphere rather than deeper, more ductile rock. This shallow geometry means strong surface shaking reaches the islands with minimal attenuation. The rupture likely involved strike-slip or oblique-slip motion along one of the numerous fault planes running through the eastern Caribbean plate boundary.
Shallow ruptures (0–50 km): Intense surface shaking, more damaging to buildings. Energy reaches ground faster, with less wave dispersion. Deep ruptures (>300 km): Weak surface shaking, rarely cause structural damage. This event at 30 km depth falls into the high-damage shallow category.
Antigua and Barbuda, home to ~100,000 people, experienced moderate to strong shaking across both islands. Tourism infrastructure, cruise ship ports, and residential areas in Codrington and St. John's were exposed to ground acceleration. Historical earthquakes in 1974 (magnitude 6.7) and 2004 (magnitude 6.3) caused significant structural damage across the Lesser Antilles. Modern building codes in the Caribbean have improved resilience, but older concrete structures and unreinforced masonry remain vulnerable. Neighbouring islands including Dominica, Montserrat, and Guadeloupe likely felt secondary waves.
Use Pandita Data's real-time earthquake simulation to visualize how seismic waves propagate from the epicenter across the Caribbean, understand focal depth and magnitude relationships, and see how building responses vary by structure type. Interactive 3D models powered by live USGS data help communities prepare for future events and understand the dynamics of plate boundary earthquakes.
FAQ::[{"q":"What caused this earthquake?","a":"Slip along the North American–Caribbean plate boundary beneath the eastern Caribbean. The Atlantic oceanic crust subducts westward beneath the Caribbean Plate, creating crustal stress that accumulates and releases as earthquakes."},{"