Haiti was hit Saturday morning by a strong earthquake. The local government declared a state of emergency, according to Prime Minister Ariel Herny, as he announced the measure in a press conference.
The decision shouldn’t surprise anyone. The aftermath of the earthquake looks terrifying, as at least 304 people died and roughly 1,800 suffered injuries.
A 7.2 magnitude earthquake
The terrible news of what happened in Haiti is brought by CNN. The state of emergency will affect Southern Department, Western Department, Nippes, and Grand’Anse. At a 7.2 magnitude, the earthquake was indeed strong.
NBC News brought some footage showing the impact of the disaster:
Haiti is a relatively small country from Central America, as it covers an area of only 27,750 square kilometres, according to CCRIF. In the country, a number of over 11.5 million people are living.
Prime Minister Henry said, as quoted by CNN:
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,
We have sent more personnel to help out,
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.
Things look pretty bad also if we take a look at what UNICEF Haiti has to say:
Magnitude 7.2 #earthquake in Haiti
Much damage reported in the South and Grande Anse.Move away from your homes to avoid further shaking.
Take care of the children.
Follow the information of the @Pwoteksyonsivil pic.twitter.com/2oNcWbS4be
— UNICEF Haiti (@UNICEFHaiti) August 14, 2021
The US Geological Survey (USGS) reveals that the earthquake was 10 kilometres deep and roughly 12 kilometres northeast of Saint-Louis-du-Sud.
Usually, after such earthquakes, aftershocks are awaited. Unfortunately, Haiti will probably go through plenty of aftershocks as well.
