Quake strikes in the north-west of Caribbean island, damaging buildings, including a hospital and auditorium.

The quake struck the northern tip of Haiti late on Saturday.

An earthquake that struck off the northern coast of Haiti has killed at least 14 people and injured more than a hundred when several buildings collapsed.

The 5.9-magnitude quake struck near the northernmost tip of Haiti late on Saturday, causing damage to buildings, including an auditorium that collapsed and a hospital, authorities and media reported.

The quake struck about 20 km (12.3 miles), north-west of the port of Port-de-Paix, the US Geological Survey said.

The police chief for the north-west region, Jackson Hilaire, said at least seven people were killed and more than 100 injured in Port-de-Paix. Another four people died in and around the town of Gros-Morne further south, including a boy struck by a falling building, said the mayor, Jean Renel Tide.

Rescue workers reported the collapse of part of a hospital and an auditorium as the quake hit on a rainy evening.

The quake was one of the strongest to hit Haiti since a 7.0-magnitude quake struck near the capital, Port-au-Prince, in 2010, killing thousands of people in the impoverished Caribbean country.

In a post on Twitter, Haiti’s president, Jovenel Moïse, urged people to remain calm after the civil protection agency said the quake caused injuries and panic in northern towns.

Haiti earthquake: the aftermath

Le Nouvelliste newspaper said one person died when an auditorium collapsed in Gros Morne, and that detainees were released from a police holding cell that was damaged. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.

The tremor damaged the facade of a church in the town of Plaisance and a house next door collapsed, Frantz Duval, a journalist with le Nouvelliste, said on Twitter.

Initial reports on social media said Saturday’s quake was felt in Port-au-Prince but had not caused major damage there.