Haiti has been plagued by major natural disasters over and over again in recent years. After the earthquake on Saturday, the already shattered country draws another sad balance.
Les Cayes – Three days after the severe earthquake, heavy rain fell in the affected region in southwest Haiti. On the night of Tuesday, August 17 (local time), the low pressure area “Grace” caused flooding. The US hurricane center warns of landslides on parts of the island of Hispaniola, which includes Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
In an emergency shelter in the city of Les Cayes, the water was ankle-high, as reported by the dpa. After the earthquake on Saturday, many people became homeless. Meanwhile, the number of recovered fatalities has risen to 1419, according to the civil protection authorities. More than 6,900 people are injured, 37,000 houses are destroyed or badly damaged. Numerous people are still considered missing, but the emergency services no longer expect to be able to rescue them alive from the rubble.
Crisis situation: After the earthquake, Haiti is now threatened with flooding
The 7.2 quake struck on Saturday morning, August 14 (local time) near the municipality of Saint-Louis-du-Sud in the southwestern part of Haiti and hit the country hard. Thousands of buildings collapsed, but the rescue workers hardly expect to find survivors. Hospitals in the region are also heavily overburdened. There is a lack of painkillers and metal brackets to treat fractures, reports Paurus Michelete, a doctor at the Les Cayes hospital, in front of which many people have been waiting for the treatment of their injuries for days. “We are no longer receptive and people keep coming”, adds Michelete.
Henrietta Fore, managing director of the aid organization Unicef, also assessed the situation as very critical: there are many people affected who absolutely need medical care, need water or new accommodation. Aid workers have already arrived from abroad to take part in the rescue and rescue operations of a number of missing persons.
After earthquake: political crisis in Haiti intensifies
Meanwhile, the Haitian human rights organization RNDDH has severely criticized the government for its handling of the disaster: The many earthquake victims are “completely left to their own devices”. To protect themselves from the storm, some looked for tents themselves. Interim President Ariel Henry responded with an announcement on Twitter: “We will increase our energies tenfold in order to reach the greatest possible number of victims and to help them”. Because of the terrible events, Henry ordered a three-day state mourning.
Despite the devastating earthquake in 2010 that killed more than 220,000 people, the country was not prepared for similar disasters. The population had just started to recover when Hurricane Matthew in 2016 devastated the region again. Haiti is already one of the poorest countries in the world, but the unstable political situation is making the country even more troubled. After the murder of President Jovenel Moïse * on July 7th by a commando group, the crisis situation worsened. Gang violence is now causing additional worries for many residents and aid workers: they keep blocking the main road that connects Port-au-Prince with the southern parts of the state. This makes it difficult to transport relief supplies to the affected region. * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA. (klb / dpa)
