By: Staff Writer
August 17, 2021
The Haitian government declared a state of emergency after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the country Saturday, leaving at least 1,1400 people dead and more than 5,700 injured, according to the country’s civil protection agency.
One concerned citizen on the ground helping to coordinate efforts, Jude Elie, told Caribbean Magazine Plus what he experienced during his relief efforts: “While in Port-au-Prince, preparing to go to Cayes, my hometown, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit the southern part of Haiti.
“Our collaborators in the provinces of Grande-Anse, Sud and Nippes are advising us of the extent of the damages and deaths in these places. We are committed to actively support all our compatriots affected by this disaster.”
“When it comes to medical needs, this is our biggest urgency. We have started to send medications and medical personnel to the facilities that are affected,” Prime Minister Ariel Henry said. “For the people who need urgent special care, we have evacuated a certain number of them, and we will evacuate some more today and tomorrow.”
Henry is the chief administrator and leader now in Haiti after the July assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moise. With the country still reeling from his death and the aftermath and chaos that ensued, people are left wondering who will take the helm whenever elections are called again in Haiti.
Of the 1,400 fatalities in Haiti thus far, 1,054 are in the South administrative region, 119 are in Grand’Anse, 122 are in Nippes and two are in the Northwest region, the civil protection service reported on Sunday.
In the northwestern city of Jeremie, another badly hit area, doctors treated injured patients on hospital stretchers underneath trees and on mattresses by the side of the road, as healthcare centres have run out of space.
The quake destroyed 13,694 homes and damaged another 13,785, officials from the agency said. The destruction has also pushed hospitals to the brink and blocked roads that would carry vital supplies.
Haiti’s hospitals were swamped on Sunday by thousands of injured residents after a devastating earthquake the day before killed at least 1,297 people as authorities raced to bring doctors to the worst-hit areas before a major storm hits.
The earthquake struck at 8:30 a.m on Sunday morning, about 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) deep, with its epicentre about 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) northeast of Saint-Louis-du-Sud in the southwest part of the country. The location was about 96 kilometres (60 miles) west of the disastrous 7.0-magnitude earthquake in 2010 that killed an estimated 220,000 to 300,000 people.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Grace is bearing down on Hispaniola with 4 to 10 inch rains forecast to fall on Monday and Tuesday. TS Grace is moving west at 26mph.