[ad_1]
At least 724 people were killed and 2,800 others were injured after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck Haiti on Saturday morning.
Officials from Haiti’s Civil Protection Office provided the updated death toll on Sunday, as rescuers continued to search for possible survivors in the rubble of collapsed structures. The epicenter of the quake was about 125 kilometers, or 78 miles, west of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, according to the US Geological Survey.
The disaster was the latest crisis to hit the Caribbean island nation, which is still reeling from the assassination of its president, the coronavirus pandemic and a wave of gang violence. Saturday’s tremor came as the country’s vaccination campaign was just beginning.
Destruction could worsen with Tropical Storm Grace, which is forecast hit the island on Monday or Tuesday and could cause flooding and landslides. The United States, the United Nations and humanitarian organizations have pledged to help Haiti, which has never fully recovered from the catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake in 2010 that killed more than 200,000 people.
“In what is already a difficult time for the Haitian people, I am saddened by the devastating earthquake that occurred in Saint-Louis du Sud, Haiti,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. “The United States remains a close and lasting friend of the Haitian people, and we will be here in the aftermath of this tragedy.
[ad_2]
Source link