A major earthquake struck western Haiti on Saturday, sending shock waves across the Caribbean, where people fled their homes for fear that buildings might collapse, and sparking a regional tsunami warning.
The magnitude 7.2 earthquake quake struck 8 km (5 miles) from the town of Petit Trou de Nippes, about 150 km west of the capital Port-au-Prince, at a depth of 10 km, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
That made the earthquake bigger and shallower than the magnitude 7 earthquake that struck Haiti 11 years ago, killing tens if not hundreds of thousands of people, flattening buildings, and leaving many homeless.
While there were no official reports yet in Haiti of injuries or deaths, images posted on social media – which Reuters was not immediately able to verify – showed homes and part of a church in the nearby town of Jeremie reduced to rubble.
“Everyone is really afraid. It’s been years since such a big earthquake,” said Daniel Ross, a resident in the eastern Cuban city of Guantanamo, adding that his home stood firm but the furniture shook.
Cuban authorities said there were no reports yet of material damage, deaths or injuries.
In Jamaica, residents also felt the quake.
“I feel it, man. It wake me up. My roof kind of make some noise,” said Danny Bailey, 49, in Kingston.
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) also reported a quake in the region, saying it was magnitude 7.6, while Cuba’s seismological centre said it registered a magnitude of 7.4.
The U.S. Tsunami Warning System issued a tsunami warning after the quake.
Reporting by Andre Paultre in Port-au-Prince, Sarah Marsh in Havana, Kate Chappell in Kingston and Aakriti Bhalla in Bengaluru and Frances Kerry in London; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Daniel Flynn and Matthew Lewis
Trending Stories Right Now on PVDN
- Two new suspected cases of monkeypox identified in Puerto Vallarta As part of the results of the active epidemiological surveillance actions implemented by the Jalisco Health Secretariat (SSJ) in all the state’s medical units, three new suspected cases of monkeypox were identified. The patients are currently in home isolation for 21 days and will be given epidemiological follow-up. Tests were taken and sent to the…
- United States includes the Mascota-Vallarta highway on its alert list After the United States government included 30 of the 32 states of Mexico in its travel alert, the American Embassy also calls not to drive on certain highways of the country, among which is State 544, which leads from the municipality of Mascota to Puerto Vallarta. In its most recent travel alert, published on June…
- Mexico fails air safety assessment; maintains Category 2 After more than a year since the United States downgraded air safety in Mexico to Category 2, the Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation ( SICT ) reported this Thursday that it will continue as category 2 for at least a few more months. Through a statement, the agency noted that from June 13 to…
- COVID-19 cases in Mexico double over the past week The Ministry of Health (Ssa) updated the most recent figures for COVID-19 in Mexico. Through the General Directorate of Epidemiology, it shared the Daily Technical Report of COVID-19 corresponding to Saturday, June 25. Until the information cutoff at 5:00 p.m., 5,956,732 cases and 325,576 total deaths were confirmed since the health contingency began in the…
- Tropical Storm Celia continues to intensify: Heavy rains in Jalisco and Nayarit Tropical Storm Celia continues to intensify off the Mexican Pacific coast and is likely to become a Category 1 hurricane between Friday and Saturday. According to information from the National Meteorological Service, the cyclone is currently located 395 km south-southwest of Manzanillo, Colima, and 430 km south of Playa Pérula, in Jalisco. Maximum sustained winds…
