Haiti earthquake death toll rises to 1,297

SANAA, Aug. 16 (YPA) – The death toll from the earthquake that struck southwest Haiti yesterday, with a magnitude of 7.2 on the Richter scale, has risen to 1,297.

The Associated Press quoted the country’s Civil Protection Agency as saying today: 1297 dead, 5,700 injured and thousands displaced as a result of the earthquake, which destroyed more than seven thousand homes and damaged about five thousand homes, as well as hospitals, schools, offices and churches.

To that, Prime Minister Ariel Henry declared a state of emergency for a month throughout the country, noting that aid convoys organized by the government had begun to reach the areas devastated by the earthquake.

The Civil Protection Agency warned of the deterioration of the situation in the country, with the arrival of a tropical depression expected to reach Haiti this evening, bringing heavy rain and the possibility of flash floods, which makes rescue efforts more complicated and difficult to search for survivors under the rubble.

The previous death toll from the earthquake indicated 724 deaths and thousands of injuries.

The poorest country on the American continent still remembers the devastating earthquake that occurred on January 12, 2010, which destroyed the capital and many cities, killing more than 200,000 people at the time, as well as displacing one and a half million residents.