PORT-AU-PRINCE – Rescue workers are scrambling to find survivors after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti yesterday, killing at least 304 and toppling buildings in the disaster-plagued Caribbean nation still recovering from a devastating 2010 quake.
The epicentre of the shaking, which rattled homes and sent terrified locals scrambling for safety, was about 160km by road west of the centre of the densely populated capital here.
“Lots of homes are destroyed; people are dead, and some are in hospital,” 21-year-old Christella Saint Hilaire, who lives near the epicentre, told AFP.
“I was in my house when it started to shake, I was near a window and I saw everything falling. A piece of a wall hit my back, but I am not too hurt.”
The long initial quake was felt in much of the Caribbean. It damaged schools as well as homes in Haiti’s southwestern peninsula, according to images posted by witnesses.
The country’s civil protection agency hours after the quake said the death toll has jumped to 304, ticking upwards throughout the day from an initial report of 29 fatalities.
It said hundreds are “wounded and missing”, and specified that 160 died in the country’s South department alone, in the area of the quake’s epicentre.
“Initial responses, by both professional rescuers and members of the public, have led to many people being pulled from the rubble. Hospitals continue to receive the injured.”
With thousands hurt, hospitals in the regions hardest hit by the quake are struggling to provide emergency care, and at least three in the municipalities of Pestel, Corailles and Roseaux are completely full, according to Jerry Chandler, head of the civil protection agency.
Haiti has declared a state of emergency in response to the disaster, and a White House official said United States President Joe Biden has approved “immediate” aid efforts to begin.
“In what is already a challenging time for the people of Haiti, I am saddened by the devastating earthquake,” said Biden, adding that his country is ready to “assess the damage and assist in efforts to recover those who were injured and those who must now rebuild”.
Heavy damage was reported in the centre of the city here, which primarily comprises single-storey residences and buildings.
The damage in the city of Les Cayes appears to be significant, including the collapse of a multi-storey hotel.
Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who surveyed the damage via helicopter, declared a state of emergency for one month while calling on the nation to “show solidarity” and not panic.
Shortly after the quake, the US Geological Survey issued a tsunami alert, saying waves of up to 3m are possible along the coastline, but lifted the warning soon after.
A 7.0-magnitude quake in January 2010 transformed much of Port-au-Prince and nearby cities into dusty ruins, killing more than 200,000 and injuring some 300,000 others.
More than 1.5 million Haitians were made homeless, leaving island authorities and the international humanitarian community with a colossal challenge in a country lacking either a land registry or building codes.
The quake destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes, as well as administrative buildings and schools, not to mention 60% of Haiti’s healthcare system.
The rebuilding of the country’s main hospital remains incomplete, and non-governmental organisations have struggled to make up for the many deficiencies.
The latest quake comes just over a month after President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in his home by a team of gunmen, shaking a country already battling poverty, spiralling gang violence, and Covid-19. – AFP, August 15, 2021
