Haiti has been struck by a major 7.2-magnitude earthquake.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake struck about 150km (93 miles) west of the capital, Port-au-Prince, at about 8.30am local time and had a depth of 10km.
The earthquake, which was felt across the Caribbean, including in Cuba and Jamaica, comes just over a month after Haiti’s president, Jovenel Moïse, was murdered at his residence in Port-au-Prince.
The extent of the damage was not immediately clear although images circulating on social media suggested the south-west of the island near the quake’s epicentre had been particularly badly hit. Footage and photographs showed buildings that had been reduced to rubble and smashed vehicles in the towns of Jérémie and Les Cayes. One image showed the spire of the 19th-century St Louis King of France Cathedral in Jérémie had collapsed.
Residents of Port-au-Prince fled their homes after feeling the earth shake. Twenty minutes later a second 5.2-magnitude earthquake was registered in the same region, according to the USGS.
More than 200,000 people are estimated to have died following a devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010 and levelled much of the country’s seaside capital.
More details soon …