RTC Director

Haiti searches for survivors after massive quake kills at least 1200

Rescue workers scrambled to find survivors after a powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti early yesterday, killing at least 304 and toppling buildings in the disaster-plagued Caribbean nation still recovering from a devastating 2010 quake.

The epicentre of the shaking, which rattled homes and sent terrified locals scrambling for safety, was about 100 miles (160 kilometres) by road west of the centre of the densely populated capital Port-au-Prince.

“Lots of homes are destroyed, people are dead and some are at the hospital,” 21-year-old Christella Saint Hilaire, who lives near the epicentre, told AFP.

“I was in my house when it started to shake, I was near a window and I saw everything falling,” she said. “A piece of a wall hit my back, but I am not too hurt.”

The long, initial quake was felt in much of the Caribbean. It damaged schools as well as homes on Haiti's south-western peninsula, according to images posted by witnesses.

Hours after the quake the country's civil protection agency said that the death toll had jumped to 1200, ticking upwards throughout the day from an initial report of 29 fatalities.

The agency said that hundreds had been “wounded and missing” and specified that 160 were killed in the country's South department alone, in the area of the quake's epicentre.

Initial responses, by both professional rescuers and members of the public have led to many people being pulled from the rubble. Hospitals continue to receive injured,” it added.

With thousands injured, hospitals in the regions hardest hit by the quake were already struggling to provide emergency care, and at least three in the municipalities of Pestel, Corailles and Roseaux were completely full, according to Jerry Chandler, head of the civil protection agency.

Haiti has declared a state of emergency in response to the disaster, and a White House official said US President Joe Biden has approved “immediate” aid efforts to begin.

“In what is already a challenging time for the people of Haiti, I am saddened by the devastating earthquake,” Biden said, adding that his country was ready to “assess the damage and assist efforts to recover those who were injured and those who must now rebuild”.

Residents shared images on social media of frantic efforts to pull people from the ruins of caved-in buildings, while screaming bystanders sought safety in the streets outside their homes.

“Houses and their surrounding walls have collapsed. The roof of the cathedral has fallen down,” resident Job Joseph told AFP from the hard-hit city of Jeremie on Haiti's far western end.

Heavy damage was reported in the centre of the city, which is composed primarily of single-storey residences and buildings.

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

Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who surveyed the damage via helicopter, declared a state of emergency for one month while calling on the nation to “show solidarity” and not panic.

Shortly after the quake, the US Geological Survey issued a tsunami alert, saying waves of up to three metres (nearly 10 feet) were possible along the coastline of Haiti, but lifted the warning soon after.

Jeremie resident Tamas Jean Pierre said the possibility of a tsunami nonetheless sent parents “fleeing the city with their children in [their] arms”.

“People are terrified,” he said.

A 7.0-magnitude quake in January 2010 transformed much of Port-au-Prince and nearby cities into dusty ruins, killing more than 200,000 and injuring some 300,000 others.

More than a million and a half Haitians were made homeless, leaving authorities and the international humanitarian community with a colossal challenge in a country lacking either a land registry or building codes.

The quake destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes, as well as administrative buildings and schools, not to mention 60 per cent of Haiti's health care system.

The rebuilding of the country's main hospital remains incomplete, and non-governmental organisations have struggled to make up for the State's many deficiencies.

The latest quake comes just over a month after President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in his home by a team of gunmen, shaking a country already battling poverty, spiralling gang violence and COVID-19.

by RTC Director

Tropical Storm Fred makes landfall in Dominican Republic

Tropical Storm Fred made landfall in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, with forecasters warning that heavy rains could cause dangerous flooding and mudslides there and in the neighbouring country of Haiti.

After a quiet month of no named storms in the region, Fred became the sixth of the Atlantic hurricane season late Tuesday as it moved past the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on a forecast track that would carry it toward Florida over the weekend.

Government crews with megaphones walked through impoverished neighbourhoods in the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo ahead of the storm urging those in low-lying areas to evacuate.

Tropical storm warnings were discontinued in the US territories after pelting the islands with rain, leaving some 13,000 customers without power in Puerto Rico.

Fred was centred 30 miles (50 kilometres) west of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Wednesday morning and moving west-northwest at 16 mph (26 kph), the US National Hurricane Center said. It had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph).

The Dominican Republic, Haiti and central and eastern Cuba could get hit Wednesday, and people in Florida were urged to monitor updates. Forecasters said the centre of Fred was expected to move near the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas on Thursday, and move north of the northern coast of central Cuba on Friday.

Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi closed government agencies on Tuesday at noon and officials noted that some gas stations had shut down after running out of fuel. The heaviest rain was expected to fall during the night, forecasters said.

Source-AP

by RTC Director