08/15/2021 10:59 AM
Clarín.com
World
Updated 08/15/2021 10:59 AM
After the strong 7.2 magnitude earthquake that shook the southern part of Haiti, non-governmental organizations such as
World Vision
, Doctors without Borders or the International Red Cross activated intensive protocols to care for the victims of the earthquake, which so far left
more than 300 dead and some 1,800 wounded
.
Through a statement, the International Federation of the Red Cross reported that
a humanitarian corridor from the
Dominican Republic
was
activated
with non-food aid for more than 4,500 people.
As reported, within the aid sent there are
medicines, more than two million chinstraps and hand gel
to protect the population from the contagion of coronavirus.
Wheelchairs, anesthesia circuits, suture kits, cotton, needles, gowns and cannulas were also sent.
Part of the damage left by the earthquake in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.
Photo: EFE
In turn, other emergency aid is being prepared from Panama and other areas of the Caribbean, said the federation, noting that psychological support for victims is very necessary at crucial moments such as the one we are experiencing.
At the moment, the organization is managing the mobilization of personnel to the affected area of
Jérémie and Los Cayos
, 125 kilometers south of the capital,
Port-au-Prince
in order to be able to accurately estimate the damages and needs of the most affected families .
Rescue search
efforts
focus on these two locations, which are the most affected by the earthquake.
There is a fear that people are still trapped in the rubble, while official figures for now speak of
304 dead and 1,800 injured
.
A group of people remove rubble in search of survivors after the earthquake that affected Haiti.
Photo: EFE
"We are deeply concerned about the devastation that this earthquake causes in a country already battered by
extreme poverty and social and political instability
," added Marcelo Viscarra, national director of another major NGO that is there, World Vision.
As a Red Cross, World Vision has pre-positioned supplies to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to 6,000 people, according to Viscarra.
"We are concerned about the
limited capacity of attention of the authorities
, who have their hands full with the care of the pandemic, and now hospital centers are flooded with patients and injured," he lamented.
Médecins Sans Frontières, meanwhile, reported that it will support local health centers to stabilize seriously injured people from its hospital in Tabarre, in Port-au-Prince.
"The teams will also support the blood collection efforts in Turgeau," the organization said through its official Twitter account.
# Haiti The photo of our team shows the great damage that the earthquake caused in many buildings in Port-à-Piment, South department.
There we will help local health centers stabilize seriously injured patients.
pic.twitter.com/alkJ4vQ4ij
- Doctors Without Borders (@MSF_Argentina) August 14, 2021
"MSF teams continue to assess the medical and humanitarian needs in other areas of Haiti affected by the earthquake, and how to improve support for the local emergency response," the NGO added.
Likewise, the Government of the Dominican Republic ordered the dispatch of humanitarian aid to Haiti.
A statement from the Presidency indicates that the Ministry of Defense provided an aircraft "to mobilize the Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and three wounded, including a minor, from Los Cayos to Port-au-Prince."
Earthquake
The quake, which rattled houses and forced the population to seek protection, occurred about 8.30am local time -9.30 Argentina time - on Saturday and was centered 12 km from the city of Saint-Louis-du -Sud, about 160 km from the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
The maximum magnitude peak was 7.2 on the Richter scale.
The quake had a depth of 10 kilometers, according to the USGS report.
Hundreds of people are actively working in Los Cayos removing debris.
Photo: EFE
As the hours passed, several aftershocks were felt, which affected neighboring cities such as Jérémie and Los Cayos, many above 4 degrees.
Initially there was a tsunami alert but it was suspended hours later.
After the main earthquake registered in Saint-Louis-du-Sud, an aftershock of magnitude 5.2 occurred 17 kilometers from the town of Chantal, again with a hypocenter 10 kilometers deep.
The earthquake that occurred this Saturday in Haiti is already part of the 10 most lethal earthquakes of the last 25 years in Latin America.
With information from Agencies
Look also
Joe Biden orders an "immediate response" from the US to the earthquake in Haiti
The earthquake, another hell for Haiti, a country submerged in misery and violence