 The magnitude 7 @.@ 0 Mw earthquake occurred inland , on 12 January 2010 at 16 : 53 ( UTC @-@ 05 : 00 ) , approximately 25 km ( 16 mi ) WSW from Port @-@ au @-@ Prince at a depth of 13 km ( 8 @.@ 1 mi ) on blind thrust faults associated with the Enriquillo @-@ Plantain Garden fault system . There is no evidence of surface rupture and based on seismological , geological and ground deformation data it is thought that the earthquake did not involve significant lateral slip on the main Enriquillo fault . Strong shaking associated with intensity IX on the Modified Mercalli scale ( MM ) was recorded in Port @-@ au @-@ Prince and its suburbs . It was also felt in several surrounding countries and regions , including Cuba ( MM III in Guantánamo ) , Jamaica ( MM II in Kingston ) , Venezuela ( MM II in Caracas ) , Puerto Rico ( MM II – III in San Juan ) , and the bordering Dominican Republic ( MM III in Santo Domingo ) . According to estimates from the United States Geological Survey , approximately 3 @.@ 5 million people lived in the area that experienced shaking intensity of MM VII to X , a range that can cause moderate to very heavy damage even to earthquake @-@ resistant structures . Shaking damage was more severe than for other quakes of similar magnitude due to the shallow depth of the quake . 
