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A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck near Haiti on Saturday morning.
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The US Geological Survey is estimating “high casualties” and widespread disaster.
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The earthquake was about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) northeast of Saint-Louis-du-Sud and 10 kilometers deep (about 6 miles), according to the USGS.
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A powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake rocked the western part of Haiti on Saturday, the United States Geological Survey said.
The epicenter was roughly 7.5 miles northeast of Saint-Louis du Sud, according to the agency’s website. Haiti’s Civil Protection tweeted that initial reports indicate homes collapsed during the quake and there may be fatalities.
“We will continue to inform you,” the tweet read.
The quake, which was felt in the capital of Port-au-Prince, had triggered a tsunami threat in the Caribbean country but it was later canceled.
Naomi Verneus, 34, who lives in Port-au-Prince, said she was jolted awake by the earthquake and that her bed was shaking.
“I woke up and didn’t have time to put my shoes on,” she said. “We lived the 2010 earthquake and all I could do was run. I later remembered my two kids and my mother were still inside. My neighbor went in and told them to get out. We ran to the street.”
A “significant” 5.2-magnitude aftershock hit west of the main quake, the U.S. Geological Survey tweeted, adding that “more aftershocks are expected in the coming days and weeks.”
The impoverished country, where many live in tenuous circumstances, is vulnerable to earthquakes and hurricanes. A 5.9 earthquake struck Haiti in 2018, killing at least 15 people and injured more than 300 others.
In 2010, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit the capital and killed an estimated 300,000 people.
Haiti also is in the cone for Tropical Storm Grace, which could approach by late Monday.
