Earthquake of 7.7 hit Caribbean

Earthquake of magnitude 7.7 struck in the Caribbean.

Officials issued brief warning s of tsunami and office evacuations as far away as Florida.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake happened in the areas between Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and Cuba. The depth recorded was 1km (6.2 miles).

No casualties were reported, but buildings shook and tremors were felt across the Caribbean.

Officials emptied few offices in Miami and areas in Jamaica.

Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) later withdrew warnings.

The PTWC first informed, “Hazardous tsunami waves” were predicted within 300km of epicenter from where the quake originated.

Some of the areas where warnings were issued included Belize, Cuba, Honduras, Mexico, the Cayman Islands, and Jamaica.

However, they later assured that tsunami danger does not persist.

Around 125 km north-west of Lucea, Jamaica was the epicenter of the earthquake.

Shocks were felt in the Cuban capital, Havana, Kingston, Jamaica, and Miami.

Earlier, A 6.8 magnitude earthquake hits the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. It hits the same area where it was struck by a string of deadly tremors in October.

People rushed from homes and restaurants set swaying by the strong jolt south of the populous city of Davao and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said it was expecting damage.

There was no threat of a tsunami, said the US Geological Survey, which initially reported the magnitude at 6.9.

The Philippines suffers regular tremors as part of the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.