Tsunami fears were cancelled about an hour after they were issued and there have been no reports of serious damage or deaths.

The depth of the quake was 10km which would have amplified its effect. It was initially recorded as a 7.8 magnitude, but then downgraded to 7.6 by USGS.

The tsunami advisory was in effect for Puerto Rico and the US. Virgin Islands, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

The quake rattled windows in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa about 520km to the east, but no damage was immediately reported. It was also lightly felt in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo north of Honduras, according to Mexico’s civil protection director.

The northern coast of Honduras closest to the quake’s epicentre is sparsely populated, with much of it covered by nature reserves. Some people in the capital of Tegucigalpa said they did not feel the tremor.

President Juan Orlando Hernandez via Twitter said that Honduras had activated its emergency system and asked people to remain calm.

Shaking was felt across much of the Central American nation and there were some reports of cracks in homes in Colon and Atlantida provinces along the northern coast and Olancho in eastern Honduras.

Firefighters said some residents in southern neighbourhoods fled their homes after feeling the shaking.

“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.

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 the Cayman Islands, Sgt. Dave McKay with Royal Cayman Islands Police told The Associated Press that hazard management officials had not issued a tsunami alert but authorities were monitoring the situation.