A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti at around 8:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, according to the American Seismological Center. 

Deaths and significant damage have already been reported from the quake, whose epicenter was five miles from the town of Petit Trou de Nippes and 150 kilometers west of the country's capital Port-au-Prince. 

"I can confirm there are deaths, but I don't yet have an exact toll," said the head of the country's civil protection agency Jerry Chandler.

The earthquake was potentially larger than the magnitude-7 earthquake that hit Haiti in 2010, killing over 200,000 people and injuring another 300,000 people. 

That quake also destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes and 60 percent of the country's health-care system.

Haiti was still recovering from that before today's events. 

The earthquake was felt throughout the Caribbean, including in Cuba and Jamacia, and a tsunami warning was issued, but then it was quickly retracted.

Schools, religious buildings, and homes were damaged in Saturday's earthquake, according to local residents. Images of the collapsed buildings are being shared on social media.

"Lots of homes are destroyed, people are dead, and some are at the hospital," Christella Saint Hilaire told Reuters. He lives near the epicenter of the earthquake.

"Everyone is in the street now and the shocks keep coming."

Haiti is also dealing with the turmoil caused by last's month assassination of President Jovenel Moise, COIVD-19, poverty, and spiraling gang violence.