PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A magnitude 7 earthquake struck Haiti on Saturday morning, seismologists said, shaking the impoverished Caribbean country that is still recovering from a disastrous quake more than 11 years ago.
The United States Geological Survey said the quake struck five miles from the town of Petit Trou de Nippes in the western part of the country, about 80 miles west of Port-au-Prince. Seismologists said it had a depth of seven miles. It was felt as far away as Jamaica, 200 miles away.
The quake could hardly have come at a worse time for the nation of 11 million, which has been in the throes of a political crisis since President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated on July 7.
The U.S.G.S. said it was a magnitude 7 quake.
There were no immediate reports of fatalities, but pictures and video posted on social media showed collapsed structures in the aftermath of the quake.
aftermath of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Haiti 🇭🇹 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/080yX6P9FJ
— 🏝CARIBBEAN CULTURE ⓦ🏝〽️ (@westindimade) August 14, 2021
Haiti was the scene of a devastating earthquake in 2010. That magnitude 7 quake killed more than 220,000 people and leveled much of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
The U.S. Tsunami Warning Center reported that there was a tsunami threat because of the earthquake, saying that “tsunami waves are forecast for some coasts.”