Haiti: The number of earthquake victims rose to 1,400

After the severe earthquake in Haiti, the death toll rose to over 1,400. While the desperate search for survivors continues, the next catastrophe is looming.

The civil protection agency in Haiti has raised the death toll to 1,419 after the severe earthquake. The number of injuries rose to 6,000 by Monday. The civil defense is trying to move the available resources to the hardest hit places, said agency director Jerry Chandler. He referred to the areas of Cayes, Jeremie and Nippe in the southwest of the country.

The tremors on Saturday had a magnitude of 7.2 and also triggered landslides. According to the US earthquake control center, the epicenter was about 125 kilometers west of the capital Port-au-Prince. According to official figures, more than 7,000 homes were destroyed in the quake and almost 5,000 damaged, including hospitals, schools, offices and churches. Around 30,000 families were left homeless.

Tropical storm could cause further destruction

The destruction could increase because the tropical depression “Grace” in Haiti was expected on Monday evening (local time). It could trigger floods and landslides with heavy rainfall.

In the badly destroyed city of Les Cayes, emergency services and scrap metal hunters dug their way through the rubble of a collapsed hotel from which 15 bodies had already been recovered. More victims were suspected under the rubble, but the chance of finding survivors was considered slim. Three days after the quake, injuries streamed into the overburdened hospital in Les Cayes.

Patients wait for treatment on stairs, in hallways and on the open veranda. Doctor Paurus Michelete said pain relievers and metal brackets to treat fractures were running out. “We are no longer receptive and people keep coming.”

More and more crises in Haiti

The executive director of the Unicef ​​Children’s Fund, Henrietta Fore, said many of those affected urgently need medical care and need clean water and a roof over their heads. Haiti had already experienced a similarly severe earthquake in 2010, killing up to 300,000 people in the densely populated metropolitan area of ​​the capital Port-au-Prince and elsewhere.

Hurricanes like Hurricane “Matthew” followed in 2016 and political instability, which culminated in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July. In addition, rival criminal gangs are up to mischief in many areas and also make it difficult to get into some of the earthquake areas, as a local Unicef ​​spokesman said. Then there is the coronavirus pandemic – Haiti has only received 500,000 doses of vaccine so far.