A magnitude 7.6 earthquake has struck near the coast of Honduras, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), which said it was registered at 20:50 local time.

The earthquake on Wednesday was felt across northern Central America, briefly prompting a tsunami warning in Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean Islands.

The tremor occurred in the sea between the island of Cuba and the coasts of Honduras and Belize, according to maps published by USGS.

The epicenter was located 202 kilometres from the Honduran town of Barra Patuca, and 245 kilometres from the municipality of Puerto Lempira (Honduras).

Translation: In face of the earthquake registered in our country, we have activated the emergency system, please remain calm, report any emergency to @ 911Honduras, Honduran president Juan Orlando tweeted.

Ante el movimiento telúrico registrado en nuestro país, hemos activado sistema de emergencias, por favor mantener la calma, reportar cualquier emergencia al @911Honduras y seguir todas las instrucciones de @COPECO_HONDURAS https://t.co/Rvo0SKAgUs — Juan Orlando H. (@JuanOrlandoH) January 10, 2018

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially warned that tsunami waves of up to 1 meter (3 feet) above tide level could hit parts of Honduras, Belize, Puerto Rico, the Cayman Islands, San Andres and Providencia (Colombia), Jamaica, Cuba, among others.

However, two hours after the quake, the threat passed, and all tsunami advisories connected with the quake were withdrawn.

Translation: Based on information from the Tsunami Alert Center @SEMAR_mx, we ruled out the possibility of the generation of a #Tsunami, the National Coordinator of Civil Protection in Mexico wrote.