Les Cayes (Haiti):The death toll from a powerful magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Haiti climbed sharply on Sunday, with at least 724 dead and a minimum of 2,800 injured. The updated figures from Haiti's Office of Civil Protection follow a previous count of 304 dead. The office's director, Jerry Chandler, said rescuers are continuing to search for possible survivors under the rubble.
People in the Caribbean island nation rushed into the streets to seek safety and to help rescue those trapped in the rubble of collapsed homes, hotels and other structures. Saturday's earthquake struck the southwestern part of the hemisphere's poorest nation, almost razing some towns and triggering landslides that hampered rescue efforts in two of the hardest-hit communities. The disaster added to the plight of Haitians who were already grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, a presidential assassination and a wave of gang violence.
The epicenter of the quake was about 125 kilometers (78 miles) west of the capital of Port-au-Prince, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The widespread damage could worsen by early next week, with Tropical Storm Grace predicted to reach Haiti late Monday or early Tuesday, bringing torrential rains. Aftershocks were felt throughout the day and through the night, when many people now homeless or frightened by the possibility of their fractured homes collapsing on them stayed in the streets to sleep if their nerves allowed.
In the badly damaged coastal town of Les Cayes, some families salvaged their few belongings and spent the night at an open-air football pitch. On Sunday morning, people lined up to buy what little was available: bananas, avocados and water at a local street market. Some in the town praised God for surviving the earthquake, and many went to the city's cathedral, which appeared outwardly undamaged even if the priests' residence was destroyed.
"We only have Jesus now," said Johanne Dorcely, 58, whose house was destroyed. Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he was rushing aid to areas where towns were destroyed and hospitals overwhelmed with patients. A former senator rented a private airplane to move injured people from Les Cayes to Port-au-Prince for medical assistance.
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Henry declared a one-month state of emergency for the whole country and said he would not ask for international help until the extent of damage was known. The most important thing is to recover as many survivors as possible under the rubble, said Henry. We have learned that the local hospitals, in particular that of Les Cayes, are overwhelmed with wounded, fractured people. Rescue workers and bystanders were able to pull many people to safety from the rubble.
Chandler said a partial survey of structural damage found at least 860 destroyed homes and more than 700 damaged. Hospitals, schools, offices and churches were also affected. On the tiny island of Ile-a-Vache, about 6.5 miles (10.5 kilometers) from Les Cayes, the quake damaged a seaside resort popular with Haitian officials, business leaders, diplomats and humanitarian workers. Fernand Sajous, owner of the Abaka Bay Resort, said by telephone that nine of the hotel's 30 rooms collapsed, but he said they were vacant at the time and no one was injured.
They disappeared just like that, Sajous said. People in Les Cayes tried to pull guests from the rubble of a collapsed hotel, but as the sunset, they had only been able to recover the body of a 7-year-old girl whose home was behind the facility. I have eight kids, and I was looking for the last one, Jean-Claude Daniel said through tears. I will never see her again alive. The earthquake destroyed my life. It took a child away from me.