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Haiti: The death toll from the quake rose to 1,297;
Efforts to rescue the wounded before the arrival of a tropical storm
Authorities say the number of people injured in the disaster has risen to more than 5,700, and many remain under the rubble.
While some of the neighboring states have sent food and medicine, rescue crews are quickly working to locate missing persons due to the Grace storm approaching the impoverished state.
PM Olmert: "We must respond quickly to the serious situation"
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Haiti
Earthquake
News agencies
Monday, 16 August 2021, 03:45
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Search for survivors in the rubble after the earthquake in La Caya, Haiti (Photo: Reuters)
The death toll from the earthquake that struck Haiti on Saturday rose to 1,297, the country's civil defense agency said last night (Monday).
It was also reported that the number of people injured in the disaster rose to more than 5,700.
"Many people are missing and many more are under the rubble," the agency said in a statement.
While some of the countries near Haiti have rushed to send food and medicine to it, local rescue teams know they must act quickly to locate the missing, due to a tropical storm making its way to the poor country.
The "Grace" storm is expected to hit Haiti tonight and bring with it heavy rains, which are expected to make rescue and aid efforts very difficult.
According to the National Hurricane Center of the United States, certain parts of Haiti are at risk of flooding.
"We are preparing for the tropical storm Grace," said a source from the Civil Defense Agency, adding that thousands of people sleeping on the country's streets following the earthquake will be exposed to torrential rains and could be infected with water-borne diseases.
According to the agency, at least 13,694 homes were destroyed and another 13,785 were damaged in the three most severely affected areas in the south of the country.
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304 killed in earthquake in Haiti, hundreds still missing
Efforts to rescue wounded in Haiti, yesterday (Photo: Reuters)
Treatment of the injured in Jeremy, Haiti (Photo: Reuters)
Southwest Haiti suffered the most damage, especially in the area of the town of La Kaya. The quake, which was 7.2 on the Richter scale, injured thousands and caused heavy loads in the few hospitals that remained functioning. Churches, hotels, hospitals and schools were badly damaged or destroyed in the earthquake, the magnitude of which caused the walls of one of the prisons to open wide.
Even before the disaster, Haiti faced many challenges, including tackling the corona virus, the economy plagued by gang violence and the political crisis that befell the tumultuous nation following the assassination of President Jubilee Moyes in early July.
"We must work together to respond quickly and effectively to this dire situation," said Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who flew to the town of La Kaya, which has about 90,000 people.
Some of the neighboring countries, including the Dominican Republic and Mexico, have flown humanitarian aid to Haiti.
According to the director of the U.S. International Development Agency, Samantha Power, the United States also sent vital supplies, and also deployed a 65-person urban search and rescue team.
Satellite image showing damage in the Jeremy area, Haiti (Photo: Reuters)
Humanitarian aid sent by Mexico to Haiti, yesterday (Photo: Reuters)
From his seat in the Vatican, Pope Francis urged the international community to quickly demonstrate support for the country.
"That solidarity above all will alleviate the consequences of the tragedy," he told visitors during Sunday prayers in St. Peter's Square.
However, the Haitian government opposes the desire of aid organizations to set up makeshift camps and calls on them to first turn to the Ministry of Planning, apparently trying to avoid mistakes made after the 2010 country’s devastating earthquake that killed hundreds of thousands of people.
According to the Geological Survey of the United States, the epicenter of the quake on Saturday was eight kilometers from the town of Petit Tru de Nippes, about 150 kilometers west of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and ten kilometers deep.
The noise sent top waves across the area, leading to a tsunami alert.
Following the extensive damage done, the Prime Minister declared a state of emergency for a month.
During that night, another earthquake, measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale, was felt in the Haitian region.
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