The earthquake occurred without warning on the morning of Tuesday the 7th June at 11:15a.m., and continued for less than 15 minutes, during which time it destroyed every building or other substantial structure in the Island, a total of nearly 3000. Throughout Jamaica, gaps were opened miles in length and often 20 feet wide and hundreds of yards deep while the whole of Spanish Town was destroyed.

An earthquake of magnitude 5.9 occurred 20km north of Port-de-Paix (North-West department) Saturday, October 6, at 8:10pm local time (New York time). This was followed by two aftershocks Sunday of magnitude 5.2 was located 10 kilometers deep and 16 kilometers north-northwest of Port-de-Paix and Monday at around 4 p.m. The second, of magnitude 4.2 located at 10 kilometers deep and 32 kilometers north-northwest of Port-de-Paix.

On 12 January 2010, at 4:53 p.m. local time, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the Republic of Haiti, with an epicenter located approximately 25 km south and west of the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Near the epicenter of the earthquake, in the city of Le´ogaˆne, it is estimated that 80%–90% of the buildings were critically damaged or destroyed. The metropolitan Port-au-Prince region, which includes the cities of Carrefour, Pe´tion-Ville, Delmas, Tabarre, Cite Soleil, and Kenscoff, was also severely affected.