Haiti’s Death Toll Now at 1,297 after Earthquake

The latest crisis in Haiti caused by a sudden earthquake that struck days ago seemingly is getting worse. People are still being rescued and dead bodies are still being found, the hospitals are swamped with thousands of injured people, currently, the authorities are rushing to get doctors to the worst affected area before Tropical Depression Grace makes landfall which is expected to complicate the rescue and aid efforts.

Tropical Depression Grace is expected to lash Haiti with heavy rainfall today.

So far 1,297 people have been confirmed dead while 5,700 have been listed as injured as a result of the earthquake.

“We do have a serious issue,” Jerry Chandler, the head of Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency, told Reuters hours ago. As a result of the earthquake, churches, hotels, hospitals, and schools are left badly damaged or in some cases destroyed. So far 13,694 houses have been destroyed, the civil protection agency also suggested the toll could rise further.

According to reports, in the northwestern city of Jeremie, which is another badly hit area, doctors continue to treat injured patients on hospital stretchers underneath trees and on mattresses by the side of the road because the healthcare centers have run out of space.

The PM of Haiti, Ariel Henry earlier announced a one-month state of emergency for the entire country and detailed that he will be trying to figure out the extent of damage done by the quake before asking for international help. Prime minister Henry also stated, “The most important thing is to recover as many survivors as possible under the rubble”, “We have learned that the local hospitals, in particular, that of Les Cayes, are overwhelmed.”

Several Latin American countries are preparing to send humanitarian aid to Haiti however it’s still early hours. 

Despite Jamaica and several other Caribbean nations feeling the quake, most of the damage was done in Haiti and according to the US Geological Survey, the epicenter of the quake was approximately 125 kilometers or 78 miles west of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The quake had a magnitude of 7.2 and struck about 7:30 Saturday morning in the southwest region of Haiti. Haiti was last devasted by a major earthquake 11 years ago and the country is still putting the pieces together with regards to the assassination of the president last month.

Learn more from the News report below.