Two large earthquake have rocked the Caribbean, after an initial 7.7 magnitude quake struck off the shore of Jamaica, the US Geological Survey says.
The first was enough send tremors that have swayed buildings and sparked evacuations as far as Miami, Florida. Then just under two hours later, a 6.1 magnitude quake hit just off the shorts of the Cayman Islands, where sinkholes and damage had already been seen.
The 7.7 magnitude quake that hit just northwest of Jamaica, and southeast of Cuba. A tsunami warning has meanwhile been issued for Cuba, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.
One person in Jamaica has told The Independent that it was the "most serious earthquake I've ever felt". Another individual on the island said the tremors lasted "at least a minute".
Look back at our live earthquake updates below
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the earthquake that has just struck off the coast of Jamaica.
It's unclear so far if there has been any major damage in Jamaica from this earthquake, however people who are there and posting photos have shown it was at least powerful enough to knock things over in homes.
The earthquake was reportedly felt in Cuba as well, where a New York Times journalist tweeted that the "earth is literally shaking".
The US Tsunami Warning Centres has issued a tsunami warning for Jamaica, Cuba and the Cayman Islands.
The US Geological Survey says the magnitude 7.7 earthquake hit just south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica.
The earthquake is causing alarm as far as Miami, according to reports from local journalists.
At least one building is reportedly being evacuated there, according to Vivian Gonzalez with South Florida's WSVN television channel.
Another reporter, with the Miami Herald, said a government building has been ordered to evacuate.
People in Jamaica have told The Independent that they have never felt an earthquake like this one before.
"I’m home napping and suddenly felt the house shaking for at least a minute, it felt so unreal that I actually thought I was dreaming," said O'Raine Thomas, who is in Kingston, but far away from the shoreline. "I took up my phone later and realized on social media that it was actually an earthquake."
Another, whose name on Twitter is Miss Tinnnggg, said she is unsure what to do in response to the tsunami warning.
"This is the most serious earthquake I've ever felt and that goes for many people here. A lot of schools are being evacuated and phone lines are congested," she said. "I'm not sure how to prepare. We've never had something like this."
Here's our report on the developing situation in Miami:
Miami buildings evacuated after huge earthquake hits near Jamaica and Cuba, reports say
Residents and office workers in downtown Miami have reported buildings shaking as the fire department orders the evacuation of a government building. More follows…A sinkhole has been reported in the Cayman Islands, which is near Cuba and Jamaica in the Caribbean.
Some apparent footage from a Miami area building evacuation:
Akua Walters, a student at the University of the West Indies told The Independent that exams were underway when the earthquake hit, forcing an evacuation of a six story building on the Kingston campus with around 300 students.
"We all evacuated at the time the tremors were felt," he said. "Students were panicking and rushing for the exits."
He said some students were pushing in that haste, but there were no injuries.
Here is some striking footage out of the Cayman Islands, showing large waves in a swimming pool from the earthquake.
The tsunami warning triggered by today's earthquake has passed.
In the Cayman Islands, we're seeing more reports of apparent sinkholes.
Here's a video from an individual who said they are there:
On perhaps the lighter side of things, a video purporting to show a man attempting to save beer in the Cayman Islands during the earthquake has been posted online. The Independent is working to independently confirm the video's authenticity.
You want sinkhole news? We've got you covered. Read all about it right here:
Sinkholes appear in Cayman Islands after massive 7.7-magnitude earthquake
Roads swallowed up after powerful tremors reported in CaribbeanSome scientific confirmation that the rupture that caused today's earthquake travelled west towards the Cayman Islands.
Here's from outside of the buildings in Miami that were evacuated this afternoon amid the earthquake.
The epicentre of the quake was more than 400 miles away.
The US Geological survey is reporting that another powerful hurricane — a 6.5 magnitude quake — has hit close to the Cayman islands.
It is the second largest earthquake today amid what appears to be a cluster, and following the main even near Jamaica.
Quake felt in five Mexico states
The 7.7-magnitude quake was felt in five Mexico states including as far away as Veracruz, on the country's Gulf Coast, Mexico's National Seismological Service has reported.
String of aftershocks as strong as magnitude-6.1
The initial tremor of the Caribbean quake caused a series of strong aftershocks, including one that measured magnitude-6.1.
The quake was felt strongly in Santiago, the largest city in eastern Cuba.
Belkis Guerrero, who works in the centre of Santiago, said told Associated Press: "We were all sitting and we felt the chairs move.
"We heard the noise of everything moving around."
She said there was no apparent damage in the heart of the colonial city.
"It felt very strong but it doesn't look like anything happened," she said.
She said there was no apparent damage in the heart of the colonial city.
"It felt very strong but it doesn't look like anything happened," she said.
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