Haiti earthquake kills 1,419 people, destroys 37,000 homes

SANAA, Aug. 17 (YPA) – The temporary death toll from the devastating earthquake that struck southwestern Haiti on Saturday rose to 1,419, with more than 7,000 injured, the Civil Protection Directorate announced on Tuesday.

The Directorate of Civil Protection said in a statement that the earthquake, which measured 7.2 on the Richter scale, also resulted in the destruction of more than 37,000 homes.

Rescue teams continued to search under the rubble, in scenes that brought back painful memories of the devastating earthquake that struck the poor country in 2010.

The earthquake occurred on Saturday morning, 12 kilometers from the city of Saint-Louis-de-Sud, which in turn is 160 kilometers from the capital, Port-au-Prince, according to the American Seismological Center.

The earthquake led to the collapse of churches, shops, homes and buildings, hundreds of people were trapped under their rubble.

The residents worked to retrieve the wounded trapped under the rubble, in efforts praised by the Civil Defense, stressing that “the first intervention operations made it possible to pull many people out of the rubble.”

The few hospitals in the affected areas are making strenuous efforts to provide first aid.

Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who inspected the hardest-hit areas by helicopter, declared a month-long state of emergency in the four disaster-affected provinces. He called on residents to “show a spirit of solidarity” and not give in to panic.

The Civil Protection indicated that there are “many others who are still under the rubble,” according to AFP.