By the Caribbean Journal staff

A massive 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck the western Caribbean late Tuesday evening, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The quake struck in the middle of the western Caribbean sea at a depth of 10 kilometers, with reports of shaking felt across the western Caribbean basin.

The epicenter of the quake was 202 miles north- northeast of Barra Patuca, Honduras, and about 190 miles southwest of West Bay in the Cayman Islands.

There were reports of light to moderate shaking in Belize, the Mexican Caribbean, the Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua and even in southern Florida, along with some reports of cracked walls in homes in Honduras.

There were tsunami advisories in effect for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands that were eventually called off. according to the U.S. Tsunami Warning Centers.

There were not yet reports of injuries resulting from the quake, thanks to its location in the middle of the sea far from any populated areas.

The Caribbean is a seismically active region; this was the strongest quake in the region in almost two decades.

By comparison, the devastating Haiti earthquake was a 7.0 magnitude on the Richter scale.