Horror in Haiti: The official death toll from the earthquake that struck the Caribbean country on Saturday rose to 1,297 today (Monday) and hospitals in the poor country are struggling to cope with the influx of injured and sick
The magnitude 7.2 earthquake destroyed thousands of homes, churches and commercial buildings In the west of the country. The Civil Defense Agency said at least 5,700 people were seriously injured in the quake and hospitals are struggling to cope with the huge number of injured.
In the northwestern town of Jeremy, which was badly damaged by the noise, doctors were forced to treat the wounded on stretchers placed outside the quake-hit hospital building. Jerry Chandler, head of the state Civil Defense Agency, told Reuters: "We are in serious trouble. Many buildings have fallen out of use and those still active are flooded with the wounded."
The country is expecting the arrival of a tropical storm that will make it difficult to search for survivors and will especially make the survivors miserable, whose homes have been destroyed and forced to live in makeshift tents near their destroyed homes.