Jamaica earthquake news: Caribbean rocked by two huge tremors near Cuba and Cayman Islands, with buildings evacuated in parts of US
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Your support makes all the difference.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
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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."
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.
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