An earthquake of magnitude 7.6 that struck in the Caribbean sea on Tuesday was felt across northern Central America, briefly prompting a tsunami warning for disaster-hit Puerto Rico and the British and US Virgin Islands.

The US Tsunami Center later cancelled the alert but warned some parts of Honduras and Belize were still at risk from waves of up to a metre.

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The quake – which hit at 10.52pm local time – rattled windows in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa roughly 323 miles (519km) to the east and was felt at least as far north as the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, but no damage was immediately reported.

Rodrigo Anaya Rodriguez was in a hammock inside his house near popular tourist site Bacalar Lake on Mexico’s Caribbean coast in Quintana Roo when he felt three tremors. “It felt like a bulldozer was driving past,” he said. “It didn’t last long but was very violent.” He ran to his balcony and saw electricity posts and cables swaying.

In Honduras, firefighters said some residents in southern neighborhoods fled their homes after feeling the tremors. “We have reports that it was felt in the majority of the country, but we don’t have reports of damage,” said Lizandro Rosales, director of Honduras’ contingencies commission.

The US Geological Survey said the quake, initially reported as a magnitude 7.8, was centered 125 miles (202km) north-east of Barra Patuca in Honduras and 191 miles (307km) south-west of George Town in the Cayman Islands.

The quake was very shallow, at only 6.2 miles (10km), which would have amplified its effect. It was lightly felt in Belize’s capital, Belize City, but did not prompt immediate reports of damage.

Belize’s minister in charge of emergency management, Edmond Castro, spoke on local radio to urge people living in low lying coastal areas and islands to stay alert for potentially dangerous waves.

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