Haiti earthquake death toll update Tropical depression Grace closing in on island after grim tally raised to 1297

AT least 1,297 people are confirmed dead after a huge 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit western Haiti on Saturday.

The quake struck 8 km from the town of Petit Trou de Nippes, about 150 km west of the capital Port-au-Prince, at a depth of 10 km, the US Geological Survey said.

More than 5,700 are injured and many more are still missing.

Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he was rushing aid to areas where towns were destroyed and hospitals overwhelmed with incoming patients.

USGS has estimated “thousands of fatalities” are likely and “tens of thousands of injuries in poor mountainous communities" and has issued a "red alert"

Formerly a tropical depression, Grace strengthened to tropical storm status about 400 miles east of the Leeward Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, according to the National Hurricane Center and could bring rain and flooding to Haiti as soon as today.

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CRACKS SEEN IN THE GROUND FROM EARTHQUAKE

Large cracks are seen in a road in Les Cayes, Haiti after last week's 7.2-magnitude earthquake. At least 1,297 people are known to have died as of Monday, and an unknown number are still missing. pic.twitter.com/0poM0xxOfu

â€" CBS News (@CBSNews) August 16, 2021

HAITIANS RECEIVING EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE

Sacks of rice are distributed to residents in Les Cayes, Haiti today. Two days after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the southwestern part of the hemisphere's poorest nation. The country. The death toll now stands at 1,297. â€" AP photos #GLNRToday pic.twitter.com/QdVZQjKXR6

â€" Jamaica Gleaner (@JamaicaGleaner) August 16, 2021

US RELIEF EFFORTS

On Saturday, @USAID announced the deployment of a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to Haiti to lead the U.S. government’s response efforts in the aftermath of the earthquake.

Read more about the effort here: https://t.co/vpgNC6YTqX

â€" The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 16, 2021

TROPICAL DEPRESSION GRACE

BIDEN’S STATEMENT ON HAITI

PHOTOS OF DAMAGE

‘BED WAS SHAKING’

Naomi Verneus, a 34-year-old resident of Port-au-Prince, told the AP she was jolted awake by the earthquake and that her bed was shaking.

“I woke up and didn’t have time to put my shoes on. We lived the 2010 earthquake and all I could do was run,” she said.

“I later remembered my two kids and my mother were still inside. My neighbor went in and told them to get out. We ran to the street.”

WHEN DID THE EARTHQUAKE HIT?

The quake struck 8 km from the town of Petit Trou de Nippes, about 150 km west of the capital Port-au-Prince, at a depth of 10 km, the US Geological Survey said.

As of the afternoon of August 14, at least 29 fatalities have been confirmed.

QUEEN SENDS MESSAGE OF CONDOLENCES

TROPICAL STORM GRACE HEADED TOWARDS HAITI

According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, Fred, which was once a tropical storm, is now headed into the eastern Gulf of Mexico and could regain such strength on Sunday.

Grace, meanwhile, is forecasted to reach Haiti on Monday night, which forecasters predict it will drop four to seven inches of rainfall.

PHOTOS OF WRECKAGE

Nearly 1,300 people have died and at least 5,700 were injured after a severe 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti Saturday.

It destroyed over 7,000 homes.

Tropical Depression Grace is forecast to hit Haiti Monday, threatening to complicate search and rescue efforts. pic.twitter.com/fJL1vcWLvw

â€" AJ+ (@ajplus) August 16, 2021

JOE BIDEN’S RESPONSE

President Joe Biden has authorized an immediate US response to the earthquake on Saturday afternoon and named US AID Administrator Samantha Power as coordinator of the effort.

It came shortly before Haitian Prime Minister Dr. Ariel Henry declared an official state of emergency.

He confirmed the motion in a tweet, writing: “We will make the necessary arrangements to assist people affected by the earthquake in the Southern Peninsula.

“We must show a lot of solidarity with regard to the emergency. The government will declare a state of emergency. We will act quickly.”

CHURCH COLLAPSE

A church reportedly collapsed under the strain of the quake in the southwestern town of Les Anglais while a ceremony was apparently underway.

One clip uploaded to Twitter on Saturday afternoon showed a young girl and boy being hauled from the wreck of a collapsed building by a group of good Samaritans welding tools.

The children looked traumatized and fatigued, with the girl unable to stand on her own.

SIGNIFIGANT DAMAGE

Images posted to social media showed significant damage to buildings including collapsed homes and rubble splayed across the road.

French-language newspaper Le Nouvelliste reported on Saturday that “The majority of hotels and churches on the south coast of Haiti, which are often the most important buildings in cities, have collapsed or suffered significant damage.”

Economic losses could range in the tens of millions, USGS reports.

‘RED ALERT’

Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he was rushing aid to areas where towns were destroyed and hospitals overwhelmed with incoming patients.

USGS has estimated “thousands of fatalities” are likely and “tens of thousands of injuries in poor mountainous communities” and has issued a “red alert”

“High casualties are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,” a statement from the agency released around an hour after the quake said.

“Past events with this alert level have required a national or international level response.”

Jerry Chandler, Haiti’s director of civil protection, confirmed deaths had occurred but said he doesn’t “yet have an exact toll”, adding that officials are “still collecting information.”

NAOMI OSAKA VOWS TOURNAMENT MONEY TO HAITI RELIEF

Really hurts to see all the devastation that’s going on in Haiti, and I feel like we really can’t catch a break. I’m about to play a tournament this week and I’ll give all the prize money to relief efforts for Haiti. I know our ancestors blood is strong we’ll keep rising 🇭🇹❤️🙏🏾

â€" NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) August 14, 2021

RESCUERS SEARCH FOR SURVIVORS

MAGNITUDE OF EARTHQUAKE

An earthquake with a 5.8 magnitude shook Haiti on Saturday night â€" less than 24 hours after the country was hit by a massive 7.2 quake that has so far claimed at least 724 lives.

The 5.8 magnitude quake was measured at a depth 40 kilometers, and the tremor was felt some 38 km northwest of Les Cayes, according to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC).

HAITI ALREADY HIT BY COVID

The reports of overwhelmed hospitals come as Haiti struggles with the pandemic and a lack of resources to deal with it.

The country of 11 million people received its first batch of U.S.-donated coronavirus vaccines only last month via a United Nations program for low-income countries.

THINGS COULD GET WORSE

Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency has warned things could get worse with the arrival of Tropical Depression Grace which is expected to hit the island tonight.

The agency predicted Haitians must expect strong winds, heavy rain, rough seas, landslides and flooding.

The quake on Saturday has already killed at least 1,297 people with another 5,700 injured and thousands have lost their homes.

SHORTAGE OF DOCTORS

There is a shortage of doctors adding to the problem of hospitals being overwhelmed.

Officials in Les Cayes believe there are only about 30 doctors for about 1 million people, the New York Times reports.

Many hospitals and clinics were heavily damaged and struggling to cope with the number of casualties.

MEDICAL NEED IS ‘BIGGEST URGENCY’ AS HOSPITALS OVERWHELMED

Haitian Prime Minister and acting President Ariel Henry has said that “medical needs” is his country’s “biggest urgency”.

“When it comes to medical needs, this is our biggest urgency. We have started to send medications and medical personnel to the facilities that are affected,” he said. “For the people who need urgent special care, we have evacuated a certain number of them, and we will evacuate some more today and tomorrow.”

The devastating earthquake has left hospitals unable to cope as they try to deal with the number of casualites.

An administrator at Hopital Saint Antoine told CNN: “There are a lot of people coming in… We don’t have enough supplies:”

HORRIFIC DAMAGE

Heavy damage was reported in the center of the city of Jeremie, home to around 200,000 people and composed primarily of single-story buildings.

The damage in the city of Les Cayes also appeared to be significant, including the collapse of a multi-story hotel.

Amid ongoing fear of aftershocks, virtually the entire population of that city spent Saturday night outdoors, sleeping in front of their homes â€" or what was left of them.

USAID SENDING SEARCH AND RESCUE CREWS

The United States Agency for International Development is sending a search and rescue team to help search for survivors after the devastating earthquake.

“This 65-person deployment brings 52,000 pounds of specialized tools, equipment & medical supplies to assist in search operations,” a USAID administrator tweeted.

Update: at the request of Haiti’s government, @USAID has deployed an urban search & rescue team to join our #Haiti earthquake disaster response team. This 65-person deployment brings 52,000 pounds of specialized tools, equipment & medical supplies to assist in search operations.

â€" Samantha Power (@PowerUSAID) August 15, 2021

SOUTHWESTERN HAITI WORST AFFECTED

Southwestern parts of Haiti appear to have borne the brunt of the earthquake, especially around the city of Les Cayes.

The latest shocking figures say at least 724 people died with an unknown number of people missing and at least 2,800 people have been injured, officials say.

Rescuers are picking through rubble in a desperate search for any survivors.

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