Port-au-Prince/UNI: A powerful 4.9-magnitude earthquake off the southwest coast of Haiti has resulted in the death of four people and 36 more people suffering injuries, the Haitian Directorate for Civil Protection said.

The US Geological Survey said on Tuesday that the earthquake struck Haiti at 09:11 GMT 13.7 kilometers (8 miles) from the city of Jeremie, with 97,500 people in the population, at a depth of 10 kilometers. According to the Haitian authorities, the magnitude of the earthquake was 5.7, and the epicenter was at a depth of 9 kilometers.

"According to the local civil protection authorities, as a result of the earthquake, which occurred this morning [local time], in the Grand'Anse department, two houses collapsed in Jeremie city, having killed four people and injured another 36," the directorate tweeted.

The Route Nationale 7 highway between the cities of Jeremie and Les Cayes has been blocked as a result of the earthquake, the tweet read.