1,300 dead in Haiti quake; homes damaged
Saint-Louis-du-Sud, August 16, 2021
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on Saturday has left at least 1,300 people dead and more than 5,700 injured, according to the country's civil protection agency.
Of the fatalities, 1,054 are in the South administrative region, 119 are in Grand'Anse, 122 are in Nippes and two are in the Northwest region, a CNN report quoting the civil protection service reported said.
The quake destroyed 13,694 homes and damaged another 13,785, officials from the agency said. The destruction has also pushed hospitals to the brink and blocked roads that would carry vital supplies.
Meanwhile, the Haitian government has declared a state of emergency for the Western Department, Southern Department, Nippes and Grand'Anse.
The earthquake struck at 8:30 am about 10 km deep, with its epicenter about 12 km northeast of Saint-Louis-du-Sud in the southwest part of the country. The location was about 96 km west of the disastrous 7.0-magnitude earthquake in 2010 that killed an estimated 220,000 to 300,000 people.
The earthquake is just the latest challenge for the struggling country, which is still dealing with fallout from the 2010 quake. The assassination of President Jovenel Moïse last month, which has not yet been solved or properly explained, has added further instability to a country in crisis.
