At least 300 dead in 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Haiti

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – At least 304 people were killed by the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit Haiti on Saturday (14), according to a new Civil Protection report, which cites “hundreds of injured and missing”.

Of the total number of deaths, 158 occurred in the south of the country, according to the Civil Protection report.

The earthquake, which was also felt in the Dominican Republic and Cuba, was registered at 8:29 AM local time (12.29 GMT), about 12 kilometers from the town of Saint-Louis du Sud, with an epicenter 10 kilometers deep, and was followed by an aftershock of magnitude 5.2 17 kilometers from the town of Chantal, also with an epicenter 10 kilometers deep.

The epicenter of the quakes is about 160 km from the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

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At least 304 deaths have been confirmed so far, according to the country’s civil protection director, Jerry Chandler.

Christella Saint Hilaire, who lives near the epicenter, told AFP that “many houses are destroyed” and that “aftershocks are still occurring.”

“Houses and the walls around them have collapsed. The roof of the cathedral collapsed,” said Job Joseph, a resident of the town of Jeremie, in the far west of Haiti. The center of the city, which is mainly made up of residences and single-story buildings, was severely damaged.

Haiti declared a state of emergency in response to the catastrophe and U.S. President Joe Biden approved “immediate” aid for the Caribbean country, a White House official told reporters.

Locals shared images on social media showing desperate efforts to pull people from the rubble of collapsed buildings, as several people screamed trying to find a safe place outside their homes.

ALL RESOURCES

“I am mobilizing all the resources of my administration to come to the aid of the victims,” Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry wrote on Twitter while calling for the unity of the nation.

The initial long jolt was felt across much of the Caribbean, including in Santiago de Cuba (about 300 km from Saint-Louis-du-Sud), where many residents left their homes, according to Radio Rebelde.

The USGS initially issued a tsunami warning, predicting possible waves of up to three meters along Haiti’s coast, but lifted it shortly thereafter.

Damage in the city of Les Cayes appears to be significant, including the collapse of a multi-story hotel.

Residents shared images on social media of the ruins of concrete buildings, including a church where a ceremony was apparently being held Saturday in the southwestern town of Les Anglais.

ONE TRAGEDY AFTER ANOTHER

A magnitude 7 earthquake in January 2010 left much of Port-au-Prince and nearby cities in dusty ruins. It killed more than 200,000 people and injured another 300,000.

More than 1.5 million Haitians were left homeless, leaving the island’s authorities and the international humanitarian community facing a colossal challenge in a country that lacks a land registry and building codes.

That earthquake destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes, as well as administrative buildings and schools, as well as 60% of Haiti’s healthcare system.

Reconstruction of the country’s main hospital remains incomplete, and non-governmental organizations have struggled to make up for the state’s many shortcomings.

Saturday’s earthquake comes just over a month after President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in his home by an armed commando group, shocking a country already struggling with poverty, growing criminal gang violence, and the covid-19 pandemic.

The investigating judge appointed Monday to lead the judicial inquiry into Moise’s assassination announced Friday that he was dropping the case, without giving any reasons.

Police say they have arrested 44 people in connection with the assassination, including 12 Haitian police officers, 18 Colombians who were allegedly part of the commando, and two Haitian-Americans.

Moise’s security chief is among those detained in connection with the plot allegedly organized by a group of Haitians with links abroad.

Police have issued wanted notices for other individuals, including a Haitian Supreme Court judge, a former senator, and a businessman.