Interseismic Creep Along the Enriquillo–Plantain Garden Fault, Haiti, Estimated From InSAR

Abstract The Enriquillo–Plantain Garden fault zone (EPGFZ) is a major left‐lateral strike‐slip fault in southern Haiti hosting several recent destructive earthquakes, including the 2021 M W 7.1 Nippes event with primary thrust‐slip. To investigate how strain is accommodated in the vicinity of the 2021 event, we analyzed Sentinel‐1 interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data from 2017 to 2021 using a PS + DS (persistent + distributed scatterers) InSAR time‐series approach to overcome decorrelation in this highly vegetated region. We reveal interseismic creep along the EPGF and adjacent Grand’Anse–Sud border faults, with pure strike‐slip mechanism and rates up to 9 mm/yr. We suggest that the EPGF accommodates left‐lateral plate‐motion aseismically in this area, while thrust earthquakes accommodate regional convergence and occur on secondary faults. This suggests the lack of large strike‐slip earthquakes, with thrust earthquakes as the dominant style in southern Haiti.