Magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Haiti: tsunami warning and many victims fear

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake was recorded this Saturday northeast of Saint-Louis du Sud, in southern Haiti, according to the United States Geological Survey and theThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a tsunami warning on some coasts of the country.

The authorities have not yet given official information, but the media report significant damage in the towns of Saint-Louis du Sud, Les Cayes and Jérémie, in the south. Les Cayes hospital received a large number of wounded, according to reports.

The earthquake was recorded at 8:29 a.m. local time (12:29 GMT) and had a depth of 10 kilometers, according to the reports.

The Geological Survey of the United States (USGS) estimated this Saturday that it is “probable” that the magnitude 7.2 earthquake in southern Haiti claimed “a high number of victims”, as well as “significant” material damage.

“Tsunami waves of up to 1 or 3 meters above tidal level are possible on some coasts of Haiti,” NOAA said.. Added that the tsunami could reach the coasts of Port-au-Prince, those of the southern city of Jacmel and those of Jérémie (southwest) and that the threat could last “several hours after the initial wave”, since the interval between dangerous waves can be “from five minutes to an hour”.

A few minutes after the earthquake, a 5.2 magnitude aftershock was recorded 17 kilometers from the town of Chantal, still with a hypocenter 10 kilometers deep.

The Geological Agency of North America, in fact, attributed this earthquake a red alert on its human damage scale, which means that “there will probably be a high number of victims and the disaster will probably affect a large area,” he said on his website.

According to the portal Haiti Gazette, the earthquake has been felt in the capital, Port-au-Prince, for several seconds. The city is located about 130 kilometers from the epicenter of the earthquake.

Residents shared images of the ruins of concrete buildings on social media, including a church where a ceremony apparently took place on Saturday in the town of the English, in the southwest.

Regarding the possible economic impact of this new earthquake, the USGS has issued an orange alert, which implies that “it is likely that there is significant damage”, and that the estimated economic losses are “between 0 and 3% of Haiti’s GDP”. He recalled that the majority of the population of the area affected by the earthquake “resides in structures vulnerable to earthquakes”, such as those built in mud or adobe.

“In the past, other events with this level of alert have required a response at the national or international level,” said the USGS.

Haiti was hit in January 2010 by a 7 degree earthquake, which left 300,000 dead, the same number of injured and 1.5 million victims, leaving the authorities of the island and the international humanitarian community facing a challenge. colossal in a country without a cadastre. or the building rules.

The earthquake destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes, as well as administrative buildings and schools, not to mention 60% of the health system. More than a decade later, reconstruction of the country’s main hospital remains incomplete and nongovernmental organizations are struggling to fill the state’s many shortcomings.

Development…

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