Buildings In Miami Evacuated After Magnitude 7.7 Earthquake Off Coast Of Jamaica
MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake has struck south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
It was centered 77.6 miles north-northwest of Lucea, Jamaica.
It's not immediately clear if there are damage or injuries . It was centered only about 6 miles beneath the surface of the water.
The quake was so powerful that some people in Miami say they felt their building shake.
"I was sitting at my desk in Aventura, I felt motion similar to feeling light-headed," said one person who felt his building shake, but didn't want to be identified. He told CBSMiami.com, "It didn't stop, and my coworker asked if the building was moving. It lasted for another 20 seconds as we walked toward the stairwell."
There are buildings in downtown Miami being evacuated as well, reportedly due to the buildings shaking from the earthquake.
Manny Garcia, who works in the Brickell area says, "We felt a little rumble. I was on the 23rd floor. I definitely felt it."
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Chopper 4 flew over the buildings as hundreds of people were seen walking out onto the street.
Miami-Dade police have confirmed officers responded to the Datran Center in Downtown Dadeland just after 2:30 p.m. to investigate reports of the building shaking. The building was evacuated as a precaution.
Many condo residents and hotel guests near Kendall Drive and the Palmetto Expressway evacuated their buildings.
Virginia Arellano had been on the 18th floor of her building, "I felt a little shake in my chair."
"We felt movement and everyone in the office said, 'what's happening, what's happening.' The blinds were moving and we were told to evacuate," Arellano said.
Ferencz Horvath said, "Once we walked outside the hall, we saw more people that were out there."
"So it wasn't just us that felt it. This is real. So, we went down the stairs and we walked 19 floors, Horvath added.
The Stephen P. Clark building in downtown Miami was closed as a precaution, according to Miami-Dade Police.
Miami Police tweeted that some buildings in the Brickell area were evacuated but there were no reported injuries and there are no road closures.
WATCH: CBS4's Ty Russell speaks with several people who felt the shakes in Kendall
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Raquel Perez, an employee at the Don Soffer Clinical Research Center on the UM Medical Campus was on the 7th floor when she felt the quake.
"Not everyone noticed it in my office. I was sitting at my desk and felt my chair swaying. Then, I noticed the cords of our window blinds swaying back and forth. It didn't look like it was windy outside, so I couldn't figure out why the building was swaying, but it was," said Perez. "It actually made me a little dizzy. Ten minutes later, someone in our office said they also felt movement and found a report online of an earthquake," she added.
The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine sent a statement, "We are aware of the earthquake that occurred this afternoon south of Cuba. There has been no impact, and no buildings have been evacuated, on the University of Miami Health System and Miller School of Medicine campus. All operations continue on normal schedules."
WATCH: CBS4 Chief Meteorologist Craig Setzer explains why we felt it in Miami
"It is the plate boundary between the Caribbean plate and the North American plate, the fault, the main boundary is moving relative to the two plates at a speed of 2 centimeters per year," explained University of Miami Prof. Falk Amelung, who teaches in department of marine geosciences. "So every 200 years you get a strong earthquake."
The National Weather Service has issued a tsunami threat for the coasts of Jamaica, Belize, Cuba, Honduras, Mexico and the Cayman Islands. The Weather Service said there is a threat of tsunami waves reaching about 1 to 3 feet above tide level.
There are no initial reports of damage or casualties.
