Haiti is extremely poor, politically unstable – and was hit by a severe earthquake in 2010. Now a new tremor is tearing people to their deaths. The extent of the “humanitarian emergency” is still unclear.
Saint-Louis-du-Sud – At least 304 people were killed and over 1,800 injured in a devastating earthquake in Haiti. The country’s civil protection department announced this on Saturday evening (local time) on Twitter.
In addition, numerous buildings were destroyed. Further victims are feared. Rescue workers and citizens rescued many people from the rubble in the hours after the accident. The events bring back memories of the devastating earthquake in 2010: At that time, more than 220,000 people were killed, more than 300,000 were injured, and over a million people lost their homes.
The latest quake, the strength of which the US agency USGS specified as 7.2, occurred on Saturday morning at around 8:30 a.m. near the municipality of Saint-Louis-du-Sud in southern Haiti at a depth of around ten kilometers. During the weekend, several aftershocks shook the country, which, according to the USGS, reached strengths of up to 5.8.
“The streets are filled with screams. The people are looking for relatives, resources, medical help, water, “said Abiade Lozama, head of the Episcopal Church in the particularly affected city of Les Cayes of the” New York Times “. It will take days to assess the exact damage, said the director of the children’s aid organization Save the Children in Haiti, Leila Bourahla, the paper, adding: “It is clear that this is a massive humanitarian emergency.”
Experts not surprised
Experts are not surprised that Haiti is repeatedly shaken by severe earthquakes. “The country lies on the edge of a large tectonic plate, the Caribbean plate,” said Marco Bohnhoff from the Potsdam Geo Research Center of the German Press Agency. “The problem is that the quake almost reached the surface,” he says. On average, the earthquake displaced the Caribbean plate by about 1.5 meters – “mainly to the side, but with a vertical component”.
The damage caused by earthquakes also depends on the population density. The center of the similarly strong, devastating earthquake of 2010 was under the capital Port-au-Prince – a metropolitan area with more than two million inhabitants. The current quake affects Les Cayes, a large city with an estimated 90,000 inhabitants, around 35 kilometers from the epicenter.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) sent a team of experts. Search and rescue work by the International Red Cross focused on the area around the particularly affected cities of Jérémie and Les Cayes. The organization also sent emergency specialists. Relief supplies for at least 4,500 people are available. In addition, emergency supplies are held in Panama and the Caribbean.
A one-month state of emergency declared
Interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he visited the Grand ‘Anse Department and flew over Les Cayes to get an idea of the extent of the damage. He declared a month-long emergency. The Organization of American States (OAS), Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Canada, and the United States offered assistance.
I appeal to the spirit of solidarity and commitment of all Haitians, in order to unite to face this dramatic situation that we are currently experiencing.
There is strength in the Union. # Haiti
– Dr Ariel Henry (@DrArielHenry) August 14, 2021
“The United States remains a close and constant friend to the Haitian people, and we will be there after this tragedy,” said US President Joe Biden. The federal government called for the affected areas in the southwest of the island state to be avoided. “Numerous fatalities and injuries as well as severe damage to buildings and infrastructure must be expected. There are still strong aftershocks, ”warned the Foreign Office.
The Caribbean state threatens further hardship: The tropical storm “Grace” could hit the region on Monday, as the US National Hurricane Center announced. Violent winds and heavy rain could hit Haiti, worsening the situation in the earthquake-hit area and hampering rescue efforts.
Really hurts to see all the devastation that’s going on in Haiti, and I feel like we really can’t catch a break. I’m about to play a tournament this week and I’ll give all the prize money to relief efforts for Haiti. I know our ancestors blood is strong we’ll keep rising 🇭🇹❤️🙏🏾
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) August 14, 2021
Japan’s tennis star Naomi Osaka wants to donate her prize money from the WTA tournament in Cincinnati to those affected by the earthquake. “It hurts to see the damage done to Haiti. It feels like we’re not getting any breathing space, ”wrote the world number two on Twitter. Osaka’s father is from Haiti.
Pope Francis expressed his condolences to the people affected. “I would like to express my closeness to these lovely residents who were hit so hard by the earthquake,” said the head of the Catholic Church after the traditional Angelus prayer in Rome on Sunday. dpa
