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(AP): A powerful magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Haiti, killing at least 304 people, injuring more than 1,800 others and destroying hundreds of homes, according to country’s civil protection service.
People in the Caribbean island nation rushed into the streets to seek safety and to help rescue those trapped in the rubble of collapsed homes, hotels and other structures.
The earthquake struck the southwestern part of the hemisphere’s poorest nation, almost razing some towns and triggering landslides that hampered rescue efforts in two of the hardest-hit communities.
The epicentre of the quake was about 125 kilometres (78 miles) west of the capital of Port-au-Prince, the US Geological Survey said. The widespread damage could worsen by early next week, with Tropical Storm Grace predicted to reach Haiti late Monday or early Tuesday.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry declared a one-month state of emergency for the whole country and said he would not ask for international help until the extent of the damages was known. The state of emergency will be in the Western Department, Southern Department, Nippes, and Grand’Anse.
“When it comes to medical needs, this is our biggest urgency. We have started to send medications and medical personnel to the facilities that are affected,” Henry said, adding, “For the people who need urgent special care, we have evacuated a certain number of them, and we will evacuate some more today.”
Aftershocks were felt throughout the day and late into the night, when many people now homeless or frightened by the possibility of their fractured homes collapsing on them stayed in the streets to sleep.
A former senator rented a private airplane to move injured people from Les Cayes to Port-au-Prince for medical assistance. Jerry Chandler, director of Haiti’s Office of Civil Protection, told reporters that the death toll stood at 304 on Saturday night. Rescue workers and bystanders were able to pull many people to safety from the rubble.
The reports of overwhelmed hospitals come as Haiti struggles with the pandemic and a lack of resources to deal with it. Just last month, the country of 11 million people received its first batch of US-donated coronavirus vaccines, via a United Nations programme for low-income countries.
The earthquake also struck just over a month after President Jovenel Moïse was shot to death in his home, sending the country into political chaos.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden authorized an immediate response and named USAID Administrator Samantha Power as the senior official coordinating the US effort to help Haiti. “USAID will help to assess damage and assist in rebuilding”, said Biden, who called the United States a close and enduring friend to the people of Haiti.
