AKIPRESS.COM - An earthquake has struck off the northern coast of Haiti, killing at least 11 and injuring more than 135 people, when several buildings collapsed in the impoverished Caribbean country, officials said, Daily Mail reports.
The magnitude 5.9 quake was centered about 12 miles west-northwest of the coastal town of Port-de-Paix, at a depth of 7.3 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The tremors from the quake, which struck at 8.10pm local time (1am GMT), could be felt, across the country, as well as in the neighboring Dominican Republic and eastern Cuba.
The police chief for the northwest region, Jackson Hilaire, said at least seven people were killed and more than 100 injured in Port-de-Paix.
Another four people died in and around the town of Gros-Morne further south, including a boy struck by a falling building, said mayor Jean Renel Tide.
The tremor was one of the strongest to hit Haiti since a 7.0 magnitude quake struck near the capital, Port-au-Prince, in 2010, killing tens of thousands of people.
The civil protection agency issued a statement saying that some houses were destroyed in Port-de-Paix, Gros Morne, Chansolme and Turtle Island.
Among the structures damaged was the Saint-Michel church in Plaisance.