THOUSANDS are feared dead and many more injured after a major earthquake struck western Haiti on Saturday, forcing people to flee their homes amid fears buildings might collapse.

The magnitude 7 earthquake quake struck 8 km from the town of Petit Trou de Nippes, about 150 km west of the capital Port-au-Prince, at a depth of 10 km, the US Geological Survey said.

The U.S. Geological Survey has estimated “thousands of fatalities” and “tens of thousands of injuries in poor mountainous communities” in the aftermath of the quake.

Images posted to social media also showed significant damage to buildings including collapsed homes and rubble splayed across the road.

The country is still recovering from a magnitude 7 earthquake closer to the capital 11 years ago that killed at least 250,000 people, injured 300,000, and displaced more than 1.5 million.