7.6-magnitude earthquake shakes Caribbean islands

A magnitude-7.6 earthquake shook the Caribbean Sea south of the Cayman Islands Saturday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Several islands and countries urged people near the coastline to move inland but authorities in most places later lifted the tsunami alerts.

The quake struck at 6:23 p.m. local time in the middle of the sea and had a depth of 10 kilometres, the USGS said. Its epicentre was located 209 kilometres south-southwest of George Town in the Cayman Islands.

The U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami alert for the U.S. mainland but issued a tsunami advisory for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which was later cancelled.

Hazard Management Cayman Islands urged residents near the coast to move inland and to higher ground, warning that wave heights of 0.3 to one metre were expected. The Cayman Islands government later issued on "all clear" on its Facebook site.

Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González Colón said in a statement she is in contact with emergency agencies after the tsunami advisory, but did not recommend anyone leave the coast.

The sounding of alarms in Puerto Rico's northwest region had caused people to leave coastal areas and caused heavy traffic, according to local media.

The Dominican government also issued a tsunami alert and recommended residents on the coast move to high areas "of more than 20 metres of altitude and two kilometres inland." But it later cancelled the alert.

Honduran authorities said there are no immediate reports of damages, but urged its residents to stay away from beaches.

The Cuban government requested people to leave beachfront areas.

The U.S. government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had said tsunami waves reaching one to three metres above the tide level were possible along some coasts of Cuba.