Powerful quake hits Haiti
At least 700 killed as disaster adds to pandemic woes
HAITI: A powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake added to the misery in Haiti, killing at least 724 people, injuring a minimum of 2,800 others and destroying hundreds of homes.
The country’s civil protection agency updated the death toll from an earlier estimate of 304.
People in the Caribbean island nation rushed into the streets to seek safety and to help rescue those trapped in the rubble of collapsed homes, hotels and other structures.
Saturday’s earthquake struck the southwestern part of the hemisphere’s poorest nation, almost razing some towns and triggering landslides that hampered rescue efforts in two of the hardest-hit communities.
The disaster also added to the plight of Haitians, who were already grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, a presidential assassination and deepening poverty.
The epicentre of the quake was about 125km west of the capital of Port-au-prince, the US Geological Survey said.
The widespread damage could worsen this week, with Tropical Storm Grace predicted to reach Haiti late today or early tomorrow.
Aftershocks were felt throughout the day and late into the night, when many people now homeless or frightened by the possibility of their fractured homes collapsing on them stayed in the streets to sleep – if their nerves allowed them.
In the badly damaged coastal town of Les Cayes, under darkness that was only punctured by flashlights, some praised God for surviving the earthquake.
“We are alive today because God loves us,” said Marie-claire Jeanpierre, whose home collapsed a moment after she and her son stepped outside when they felt the ground begin to shake.
Images on social media showed people frantically trying to pull victims from the ruins of caved-in buildings, while screaming bystanders sought safety in the streets.
“Houses and their surrounding walls have collapsed. The roof of the cathedral has fallen down,” resident Job Joseph said from the city of Jeremie on Haiti’s western end.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he was rushing aid to areas where towns were destroyed and hospitals overwhelmed with patients.
A former senator rented a private airplane to move injured people from Les Cayes to Port-au-prince for medical assistance.
Henry declared a one-month state of emergency for the whole country and said he would not ask for international help until the extent of the damage was known.
Jerry Chandler, director of Haiti’s Office of Civil Protection, told reporters that the death toll stood at 304 as of Saturday night.
Chandler said a partial count of structural damage included at least 860 destroyed homes and over 700
damaged.