A powerful earthquake has struck between Cuba and Jamaica, with people as far as Miami feeling the effects.
The earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.7, hit the south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica at 2.10p.m local time, said the US Geological Survey.
According to Earthquake Track, it is the highest magnitude earthquake both of the islands have ever recorded.
The US Tsunami Warning Centres had earlier issued a warning for Jamaica, Cuba and the Cayman Islands but it says the tsunami threat has now passed.
However, no injuries or major damages have yet been reported.
The quake also hit the Cayman Islands, leaving cracked roads and what appeared to be sewage spilling from snapped mains.
The quake was centered 125 kilometres north-northwest of Lucea, Jamaica, while the epicentre was relatively shallow at 10 kilometres (6 miles) beneath the surface.
However, many said they felt tremors from as far away as Miami, with one woman saying she felt her whole building swaying and shared a video of lamps shaking.
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Several South Florida buildings were also evacuated as a precaution, according to city of Miami and Miami-Dade County officials, but no injuries or road closures have been reported.
Residents in the far-eastern Cuban city of Santiago said they felt the quake strongly. Belkis Guerrero, who works in a Catholic cultural centre in the city, said: ‘We were all sitting and we felt the chairs move. ‘We heard the noise of everything moving around. It felt very strong but it doesn’t look like anything happened.’
Dr. Stenette Davis, a psychiatrist at a Cayman Islands hospital, said she had seen manhole covers blown off by the force of the quake, and sewage exploding into the street.
Meanwhile, Claude Diedrick, 71, who owns a fencing business in Montego Bay, said he was sitting in his vehicle reading when the earth began to sway. ‘It felt to me like I was on a bridge and like there were two or three heavy trucks and the bridge was rocking but there were no trucks,’ he said.
Kevin Morales, editor-in-chief of the Cayman Compass newspaper said the islands see so few earthquakes, newsroom staff were puzzled when it hit. ‘It was just like a big dump truck was rolling past,’ he said. ‘Then it continued and got more intense.’ The USGS initially reported the magnitude at 7.3 but since changed it to 7.7.
Source: Metro.co.uk
