7.2 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Haiti, Kills Hundreds
The number of reported causalities rapidly increased throughout Saturday as search and rescue personnel continue to assess the catastrophe that unfolded about 7.5 miles northeast of Saint-Louis-du-Sud. Significant damage to homes, roads and infrastructure has also been reported while doctors are being overwhelmed with patients.
“There are a lot of people coming in — a lot of people,” an administrator at Hospital Saint Antoine told CNN. “We don’t have enough supplies.”
A pair of 5.2 and 5.1 magnitude aftershocks also struck the country later in the morning. CNN Meteorologist Haley Brink said Haiti can expect tropical storm-force winds and heavy rain that could lead to flash flooding early next week. There is also a possibility of heavy rain leading to flooding and mudslides.
The nation currently finds itself in additional turmoil as it strives to move forward after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July, as Blavity previously reported.
“We’re concerned that this earthquake is just one more crisis on top of what the country is already facing — including the worsening political stalemate after the president’s assassination, COVID and food insecurity,” Jean-Wickens Merone, a spokesman with World Vision Haiti, said in a statement.
Merone said the tremors lasted more than five to ten seconds in Port-au-Prince, about 100 miles from Saint-Louis-du-Sud. The spokesman added that both sides of his house were shaking.
While Prime Minister Ariel Henry declared a state of emergency, USAID disaster experts are in Haiti to assess the damage.
🚨ALERT: A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck #Haiti this morning. @USAID disaster experts are on the ground assessing damage & needs. pic.twitter.com/Tc4F7zoWHC
— USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (@USAIDSavesLives) August 14, 2021
The latest disaster in Haiti comes more than 10 years after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated the country, killing up to 300,000 people and injuring many more. According to the New York Times, Saturday’s earthquake occurred on the same fault line as the 2010 quake.
A investigation has began after a retired detective was captured on camera using a racial slur during a confrontation during Read more
A man shot and killed three people Monday night at a New York City apartment where a birthday party was Read more
A New Jersey man has been accused of harassing his Black neighbors behind bars. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Read more
An Olympic hopeful says that she’s being targeted by the United States Olympic Committee because she’s representing Haiti, WRLN reports.Aliyah Read more
A Texas mother of high school student seen in a video assaulting and yelling at a Black teacher, now claims Read more
However, the Biden administration has been slowly increasing its involvement in Somalia. Though rare, U.S. forces have conducted a handful Read more
Texas college student, 27, who found a baby boy in a TRASH CAN and covered in ants while on vacation Read more
Byron Allen’s free streaming service HBCU Go has made a licensing deal with CBS stations that will run through the 2022-2023 Read more
A California man was in prison for two decades for stealing $14. A drug addiction took many years of his Read more
The political decline in Haiti has contributed to and exacerbated a growing economic and public safety crisis in the country. Read more
Authorities are asking for the public’s help, and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is offering a $40,000 reward for information that leads Read more
Nikese Toussaint, the sister of Jean Dickens Toussaint, told ABC News that the kidnappers initially demanded $6,000 for the couple’s Read more