Haiti earthquake death toll rises to 227

The Haitian Civil Defense confirmed that the death toll from the earthquake that hit the country on Saturday (14) has risen to 227. Preliminary figures indicate 29 dead.

The 7.2-magnitude earthquake shook the country at about 8:30 a.m. (9:30 a.m. Brasilia time), 12 km from the city of São Luis do Sul, which is located 160 km from the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, according to for the data. From the United States Geological Institute (USGS).

The earthquake was also felt by the Dominican Republic and Cuba, which had a replica with a magnitude of 5.2, 17 kilometers from the city of Chantal.

Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henri The state of the country as ‘tragic’ announced case of emergency. In a message on Twitter, the prime minister called for “the spirit of solidarity and commitment of all Haitians” to confront “this tragic situation we are currently living in.”

Hey President of the United States, Joe Biden authorized an “immediate American response” To help Haiti after it was informed of the earthquake. He also appointed USAID Administrator Samantha Power as a senior executive director to coordinate this effort.

landslides

The earthquake was felt throughout the country and material damage has already been recorded in several cities, according to pictures posted by eyewitnesses on social media sites in the southwest of the island.

“I was inside my house when everything started shaking, I was near a window and I saw everything fall,” Kristella St Helier, 21, who lives near the epicenter, told AFP.

“A piece of the wall fell on my back, but I didn’t get too hurt,” the young woman continued. “Several houses have completely collapsed,” he said.

In videos posted online, residents filmed the ruins of several concrete buildings, including a church where a party was apparently taking place on Saturday morning in the town of Les Angles, 200 kilometers southwest of Port-au-Prince.

The poorest country in the Americas still remembers the January 12, 2010 earthquake that devastated the capital and many cities inland. More than 200,000 people were killed and more than 300,000 were injured in the disaster.

More than a million and a half Haitians have been left homeless, putting the authorities and the international humanitarian community before the daunting challenge of rebuilding a country without land registration or safe building standards.

Unable to meet the challenge of reconstruction, Haiti, which is regularly hit by hurricanes, has plunged into a severe social and political crisis.