The Caribbean country Haiti was hit by an earthquake on Saturday morning.
On videos on the net you can see destroyed houses, churches and schools.
Cap-Haïtien - The Caribbean island state of Haiti was hit by a severe earthquake on Saturday morning.
The US agency USGS gave the magnitude of the quake as 7.2.
According to initial information from the authorities, several people have died.
A more precise number of fatalities is not initially available, said civil protection chief Jerry Chandler on Saturday the AFP news agency.
The national crisis team is activated.
Earthquake in Haiti: Magnitude is given as 7.2 on the Richter scale
The epicenter of the quake was in southern Haiti.
Also in the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, the earthquake, indicated with 7.2 on the Richter scale, was felt.
According to the Dominican newspaper
Diaro Libre
, panic broke out among the population there.
As can be seen on the first videos on the Internet from the region, houses, churches and schools were damaged in various places.
In addition, the authorities issued a tsunami warning that has since been lifted.
The US National Weather Service advised people on Saturday, according to dpa, to remain cautious.
In the coastal areas near the earthquake, there could still be minor fluctuations in sea level of up to 30 centimeters, it said.
The Caribbean country is repeatedly shaken by earthquakes.
In 2010 an earthquake caused considerable damage.
More than 200,000 people lost their lives at that time.
300,000 were injured.
Around 1.5 million people lost their homes.
(tel)