Haiti has seen its capital, Port au Prince, rocked by a huge earthquake which has claimed 11 lives.
The quake was centred around 12 miles (20 km) west-northwest of Ti Port-de-Paix off Haiti’s north coast.
The president, Jovenel Moïse, confirmed the news in a statement this morning, and said: “An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.8 has hit Haiti.
“According to the first reports by the Civil Protection, there is damage in the Far North of the Island.
“I am working closely with authorities for an appropriate response.”
The Civil Protection agency added: “Our teams from north to south are witnessing a state of panic in some cities.”
Foreign & Commonwealth Office travel advice
The FCO have yet to update their advice for travel to the region, but they offer general advice for Britons in the event of a natural disaster in the country.
They said: “Emergency services are ill equipped to cope with a major disaster.
“Should a hurricane strike Haiti, basic services such as transport and communications are likely to be severely disrupted. Flash floods and landslides occur regularly.
“If a major earthquake occurs close to shore, you should follow the instructions of the local authorities, bearing in mind that a tsunami could arrive within minutes.”
Haiti is prone to earthquakes as the island sits adjacent to major fault lines along the so-called “Ring of Fire”.
This is a horseshoe-shaped belt running around the Pacific Ocean where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.
Haiti often suffers with unrest, and the FCO advise “against all but essential travel to the Carrefour, Cite Soleil, Martissant and Bel Air neighbourhoods in Port-au-Prince due to the high risk of criminal activity.”
This is the strongest earthquake to hit Haiti since 2010, when the country was devasted by a quake measuring 7.3 on the richter scale.
The earthquake happened at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.
By January 24, at least 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater were recorded.
An estimated three million people were affected by the quake, with more than 220,000 people killed and over 300,000 injured.
The horrific earthquake, which was the biggest the region had seen in 200 years, left more than 1.5 million people homeless and resulted in an immense humanitarian crisis.
