Photo: USGS

The U.S. Geological Survey says a powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica on Tuesday.

It was centred 139 kilometres northwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and 140 km west-southwest of Niquero, Cuba. It hit at 2:10 p.m., and the epicenter was a relatively shallow 10 km beneath the surface.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The quake could be felt strongly in Santiago, the largest far-eastern Cuban city, said Belkis Guerrero, who works in a Catholic cultural centre in the centre of Santiago

“We were all sitting and we felt the chairs move,” she said. “We heard the noise of everything moving around.”

She said there was no apparent damage in the heart of the colonial city.

"It felt very strong but it doesn't look like anything happened,'' she told The Associated Press.