Authorities in Haiti have confirmed the death toll after the earthquake that hit the western part of Haiti on Saturday, reports say AP.
According to Haiti’s Civil Protection Office, the latest death toll now recorded in Haiti is at least 227. Twitter.
Moreover, they wrote that more than hundreds of people were injured or missing.
Reports said that a strong earthquake occurred Saturday afternoon, Norwegian time, in Haiti, in the Caribbean USGS.
According to the USGS, many people may have lost their lives in the poor, impassable mountainous regions of the country. They estimate “high death rates”.
The quake, measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale, occurred 12 kilometers from the town of Petite-Trou de Nieps. The US Geological Survey said the quake had a depth of about 10 kilometres.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry is on his way to the affected area, where a disaster center has already been set up. He says many people have lost their lives and the destruction is great.
The authorities declare a state of emergency. The Prime Minister wrote: We will move quickly Twitter.
Extensive damage
to me CNN Severe damage was caused by aftershocks of a magnitude 5.2 earthquake.
The prolonged quake could be felt across the country, and physical damage has already been reported on the peninsula in southwest Haiti, according to photos uploaded by local witnesses.
Several victims are trapped under the rubble of a hotel in the town of Les Cayes, local media writes the talk. Witnesses say rescue crews are struggling to find survivors.
human disaster
According to a witness who spoke to the AP, she says she was woken by the earthquake when her bed shook.
– I woke up and didn’t have time to put my shoes on. We survived the 2010 earthquake, and all I could think about was running. I later found out that my two children and my mother were still inside. Gary walked in again and asked them to come out. We ran into the street, Naomi Vernus, a local Port-au-Prince woman, tells The Associated Press.
tsunami forecast
The epicenter was reported 15 miles (15 miles) west of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and warnings of waves up to three feet were issued.[3 م]along the coast of Haiti.
The USGS Tsunami Alert was previously issued. It is now cancelled.
In Port-au-Prince, many people fled to the streets in fear of homes collapsing when the earthquake struck at 8:30 am.
Haiti is still struggling after that Huge earthquake eleven years ago That cost an estimated 200,000 lives.
The earthquake hit the country a month later President Jovenel Musa was killed.
This has plunged the country into a political crisis, and humanitarian aid groups are now concerned that the earthquake will lead to more problems for the country, according to the Associated Press.
“We are concerned that this earthquake represents another crisis, on top of what the country is already facing – including the deteriorating political situation in the wake of the attempted assassination of the president, coronavirus, and food security,” said Jean Wickens-Miron, a spokesperson for World Vision Haiti. AP.