At least 29 dead in Haiti after 7.2 magnitude earthquake hits Caribbean nation: Quake is stronger than the 2010 disaster that killed thousands

At least 29 people have been killed after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on Saturday, just days before a tropical storm is expected to make landfall.

The major quake hit five miles from the town of Petit Trou de Nippes, about 7.5 miles west of Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, and was felt across the Caribbean with people fleeing their homes for fear that buildings might collapse.

The 7.2 magnitude quake was stronger and closer to the surface than the magnitude 7.1 quake that damaged much of the capital in 2010 and killed an estimated 300,000 people.

Within hours the US Geological Survey (USGS) estimated 'thousands of fatalities' and 'tens of thousands of injuries in poor mountainous communities'. 

Jerry Chandler, Haiti's director of civil protection, told the Associated Press that the official death toll by midday stood at 29 and that teams will be sent to the area for search and rescue missions.

The US National Hurricane Center has forecasted that Tropical Storm Grace will reach Haiti late Monday night or early Tuesday morning. 

Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he was mobilizing all available government resources to help victims in the affected areas, and declared a one-month state of emergency for the whole country.