Deadly 7.2 magnitude earthquake strikes Haiti

A major earthquake shook Haiti this Saturday, August 14 in the early morning. It was 8:30 a.m. local time when a magnitude 7.2 earthquake shook the country first alerted the US Seismological Center. The powerful shock, whose epicenter is located 13 km from Trou de Nippes, 150 km from Port-au-Prince, was felt throughout the country. At least 227 deaths are to be deplored, according to a provisional assessment provided by the director of civil protection.

During a press conference, Prime Minister Ariel Henry declared the establishment of a state of emergency for one month. “I appeal to the spirit of solidarity and commitment of all Haitians, in order to unite to face this dramatic situation that we are currently living”, he added in a tweet.

A tsunami warning was sounded shortly after by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency before being quickly lifted, as the sea receded for a while in Jérémie, according to local media, supporting photos. Several hours later, aftershocks continued to the southwest of the island, the most affected area, oscillating between 4 and 6 magnitude. Significant material damage was recorded in the towns of Jérémie and Les Cayes, according to witness images published on social networks.

“The general hospital in Les Cayes is overwhelmed. Lots of injured. Lots of houses have collapsed in Les Cayes. Including a hotel”, said on Twitter Frantz Duval, editor-in-chief of the daily Le Nouvelliste. Indeed, two hotels collapsed in the city, leaving multiple victims under the rubble. Religious buildings, schools and homes were also damaged in the earthquake. To relieve hospitals and come to the aid of the injured, the Ministry of Health has launched an appeal for blood donation on its Facebook page. “After the earthquake that hit the south of the country, causing many injured people already counted, we are in a hurry to find blood for the victims “, alert the ministry.

Shortly after the earthquake, the country’s mobile operator, Digicel Haiti, explained on Twitter that a network outage was affecting the country: “Patience if calls do not go through. Because a lot of people try to get in touch with their loved ones. Only make urgent calls “. However, panic quickly made itself felt within the population. While many residents of Les Cayes were trying to flee in the face of the imminent threat of a tsunami, inmates at the prison in the port city of Jacmel tried to escape, according to Robenson Geffrard, journalist at Le Nouvelliste, on Twitter. .

Eleven years ago, on January 12, 2010, this Caribbean country was devastated by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake, whose epicenter was located about 25 km from Port-au-Prince. This disaster killed more than 230,000 people and destroyed nearly 1.5 million homes.