Haiti was struck by a massive 7.2 magnitude earthquake on August 14, 2021, killing at least 1,297 people. The tremor in Haiti was struck about 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the west of the densely populated capital Port-au-Prince, which was earlier devastated in a massive 2010 quake.
On August 15, 2021, the death count in Haiti jumped over 1,200 as the crews desperately dug through the collapsed buildings for the survivors in the Caribbean nation which is still reeling from its President’s assassination.
In Les-Cayes, another hard-hit city on the Southwestern Peninsula, most of the population had spent the night sleeping outdoors in front of their houses, amid the fears of aftershocks.
The streets were filled with the grinding sound of heavy equipment lifting debris from the collapsed buildings. There were also quieter sounds of the people pulling away the rubble by hand in desperate searches for the missing.
A severe earthquake in #Haiti has collapsed hospitals, schools and homes, taken hundreds of lives and left communities in crisis.@UNICEFHaiti is delivering emergency medical supplies and working to keep children and families safe in the difficult hours ahead. pic.twitter.com/HT1DGzD4lZ
— UNICEF (@UNICEF)
August 15, 2021
According to the latest update by Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency, some 13,600 buildings have been destroyed and over 13,700 damaged, trappings hundreds under rubble and leaving more than 5,700 people injured.
Nations come forward to help Haiti:
• According to the US National Weather Service, rescuers in Haiti face new pressure as the Tropical Depression Grace approaches, raising fears of the torrential rainfall, mudslides, and flash floods from late August 16.
• The US and other nations have pledged to help Haiti cope with this latest disaster. The head of USAID Samantha Power had tweeted that her agency had deployed a 65 person urban search and rescue team who are equipped with specialized tools, medical supplies, and equipment to join an earthquake disaster response team already in Haiti.
• The Dominican Republic, neighbour of Haiti, said that it will be shipping 10,000 food rations and medical supplies.
• Mexico has also sent an aid shipment while Cuba and Ecuador have dispatched the medical or the search-and-rescue-team.
• Venezuela, Argentina, Chile, and Peru have also offered to help, as did the United Nations.
Haiti’s president assassination
The latest earthquake in Haiti comes just over a month after the President of Haiti Jovenel Moise was assassinated in-home by a team of gunmen. The event shook the country which has already been battling poverty, COVID-19, and spiraling gang violence.
As per the Haiti police, they have arrested 44 people so far in connection with the killing of Haiti’s President.
Haiti Earthquake 2010:
The Prime Minister of Haiti while talking about the rescue operations mentioned that the government plans a better-adapted response than in 2010 after the earthquake.
In January 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake had left much of Port-au-Prince and the nearby cities in ruins and had killed more than 2,00,000.
More than 1.5 million people in Haiti were made homeless after the disaster, which had also destroyed 60% of Haiti’s healthcare system and had left the island authorities and the international humanitarian community with a colossal challenge.