At least 12 deaths have been confirmed following an earthquake in northwest Haiti, after a magnitude 5.9 earthquake shook the island late Saturday night, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

At least five of the deaths were registered in the the Port-de-Paix area, Jerry Chandler, the head of the country's Civil Protection disaster response unit, told the Miami Herald.

"Search and rescue, and assessment still ongoing," said Chandler, who had teams activated throughout the northwest and in Gros Morne. In some areas, efforts were being stymied by rain, which had flooded streets.

Mondestin said his report indicates that 162 people suffered minor injuries in the northwest region and eight were seriously injured. He said help had arrived from Port-au-Prince including an ambulance, a surgeon, a nurse and medical supplies.

Tremors were felt throughout the country, triggering panic. At least two aftershocks were also registered, according to Civil Protection.

Last month after tremors were felt in Fort-Liberté, Cap-Haïtien and Grande Rivière du Nord, the director of the Bureau of Mines and Energy, Claude Prépetit, said in a press conference that northern Haiti, the west and Nippes regions, were most at risk for a major quake and warned Haitian authorities. A geological engineer whose office monitors seismic activity, Prépetit said Haiti's seismic detection system had recorded about 26 earthquakes between 2.9 and 4.6 on the Richter scale during the first eight months of this year.

"I urge the population to keep calm, following the passage of the earthquake whose epicenter is located in the northwest coast," Haitian President Jovenel Moïse posted on Twitter. "The Brigadiers @PwoteksyonSivil are already in action in the Nord'Ouest. They will be joined by other teams in the following hours to amplify the relief operations.."

Minutes after the quake, reports started trickling in about houses, a Catholic church and the main police station in Port-de-Paix being destroyed or damaged.

"Civil Protection teams are hard at work across the country and especially in the northwest, where two minor aftershocks have been felt," the office said in a release. It confirmed that no tsunami warning was issued in connection with the earthquake.