Magnitude 7.2 quake leaves hundreds dead in Haiti
Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry declared a month-long state of emergency after at least 300 people died in a deadly magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck the country on Saturday morning.
The epicentre of Saturday’s quake was about 12km (7.5 miles) from the town of Saint-Louis du Sud, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. The tremor was also felt in some neighbouring countries.
More than 1,800 people were injured, the country’s civil protection service said.
Meanwhile, a USGS tool to estimate impacts immediately after earthquakes put the chances of a death toll of at least 10,000 at 70%, with a 35% chance of at least 100,000 deaths.
“There are reports of significant damage to homes, roads, and infrastructure,” American Red Cross spokeswoman Katie Wilkes said.
By late Saturday, the island had experienced six aftershocks stronger than 5.0 and nine above 4.0.
Claude Prepetit, a Haitian civil engineer and geologist, warned of the danger from cracked structures.
“More or less intensive aftershocks are to be expected for a month,” he said, cautioning that some buildings, “badly damaged during the earthquake, can collapse during aftershocks.”
Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he had mobilised a team to work on the relief effort.
“The most important thing is to recover as many survivors as possible under the rubble,” he said. “We have learned that the local hospitals, in particular that of Les Cayes, are overwhelmed with wounded, fractured people.”
Je viens de survoler, à basse altitude, la ville des #Cayes pour prendre connaissance de l’étendue des dégâts en vue de mieux canaliser les interventions d’urgence.#Haïti pic.twitter.com/QmYAgRhkQz
— Dr Ariel Henry (@DrArielHenry) August 14, 2021
International aid
A team of experts from the Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) office in Port au Prince has been deployed to evaluate the damage and coordinate an appropriate health response.
Our hearts go out to the people of Haiti on this truly sad day,” said PAHO Director, Dr Carissa F Etienne. “Our team of experts is on the ground and stands ready to assist in all aspects of health response,” she added.
US President Joe Biden said he has authorized an immediate US response and named USAID Administrator Samantha Power as the senior US official to coordinate with the Haitian government.
Several Latin American countries including Chile, Mexico, Panama, Dominican Republic, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela have expressed their support for Haiti.
Meanwhile, Colombia will deploy an Air Force team that specializes in search and rescue.
Haiti is still recovering from a devastating 2010 earthquake.