Haiti falls back into the nightmare, an earthquake kills at least 304

by time news

Time.news – 11 years after the catastrophic 6.1 magnitude earthquake which caused more than 220,000 deaths, over 300,000 injured and 1.5 million displaced, Haiti has plunged back into the nightmare. A 7.2 magnitude earthquake caused houses to collapse and buildings shake, sowing terror among the people who have taken to the streets in a country that has not yet recovered from the disaster of January 2010. At least 304 dead according to the first toll provided by the rescuers. A tsunami warning was issued and lifted shortly thereafter.

Prime Minister Ariel Henry warned that the damage was “enormous”. The epicenter was located 12 kilometers from Saint-Louis du Sud, 160 kilometers west of the center of the highly populated capital Port-au-Prince and the shock was felt in most Caribbean countries.. The earthquake damaged schools and homes on the southwestern peninsula of Haiti, according to many videos posted online. Jerry Chandler, head of the Civil Protection agency, hinted that the budget is still provisional. The authorities declared a state of emergency for a month and the American president, Joe Biden, ordered an “immediate response” from the United States by sending aid.

Videos shared by residents on social media show the desperate efforts of rescuers trying to extract people from the rubble of collapsed buildings. “The roof of the cathedral has collapsed,” said a resident of Jeremie, one of the worst-hit cities, at the western end of the country. Extensive damage has been reported in the city center, which is mainly composed of single-story houses and buildings. Serious damage also in the city of Les Cayes, where a hotel with several floors collapsed. The owner, former Senator Gabriel Fortune, has died: he was inside the hotel engaged in a meeting with three other people, none of whom would survive.

The 2010 earthquake destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes, as well as administrative buildings and schools, and knocked out 60 percent of the health system. The reconstruction of the country’s main hospital is still underway and non-governmental organizations are trying to compensate for the state’s many shortcomings. A little over a month ago, a commando of armed men assassinated President Jovenel Moise in his home, shaking a country that was already fighting against poverty, shaking a country plagued by poverty, the rampant criminal gangs and Covid.

Police announced the arrest of 44 people, including 12 Haitian police officers, 18 Colombians who were allegedly part of the commando and two Americans of Haitian descent. Among those arrested was also the head of Moise’s escort, involved in a plot presumably organized by a group of Haitians with ties to abroad. A Supreme Court judge, a former senator and a businessman are still wanted.

“I have ordered immediate help”, said Mexican President Andre’s Manuel Lo’pez Obrador, while 253 Cuban doctors are already at work in the Caribbean country, recently sent to assist Covid patients. Aid has been sent from the Dominican Republic, and the Chilean and Peruvian governments say they are ready to do as well. For his part, the Venezuelan president, Nicola Maduro, has given instructions “to coordinate all the aid we can give to our brothers in Haiti”. An important support was promised by the Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka, whose father comes from the island: “It hurts me to see so much devastation – he wrote on Twitter – this week I will play in a tournament and donate the cash prizes to the emergency. “.

Article updated at 05.21

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