UPDATE - Powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake jolts Haiti: US Geological Survey

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS, MINOR EDITS

By Dilara Hamit

ANKARA (AA) - A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on Saturday morning, according to the US Geological Survey.

The earthquake's epicenter was 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) northeast of Saint-Louis-du-Sud, with a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles).

The US Tsunami Warning System issued a tsunami alert in the region, stating that the waves could rise three meters (9.8 feet). However, it later lifted the alert.

Haiti Civil Defense Agency also announced numerous losses of lives and damage to property as a result of the earthquake.

One of the world’s most deadly earthquakes in the last century had occurred in Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010.

According to official figures, 316,000 people had died and 300,000 were injured in the 7 magnitude earthquake that occurred in the south of the country. Some 1.3 million people were left homeless in the earthquake that caused a great destruction.