It rises dramatically hour by hour The death toll from the 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Haiti. The victims have reached almost 1,300 and the President of OASP Efthymios Lekkas the dead may exceed 10,000
“We are expecting a 6.7 magnitude earthquake and of course what I am afraid of is that the eastern part of the fault, which is close to residential areas, will probably be activated,” he told SKAI.
He stressed that if this happens, things will start to get difficult and he said that the flow of information from Haiti is very difficult.
The President of OASP explained that this new earthquake essentially came from the same fault from which the 2010 eclipse came, only in this case the epicenter was a little further, ie 50 kilometers farther and therefore we do not have the same number of dead and impact.
Earthquake in Haiti: Rescuers looking for survivors – “Come and save me, I’m crushed by concrete”
The strong earthquake injured more than 5,700 and left thousands homeless in the southwestern part of the country, where many residents are looking for their own who are either missing or trapped under collapsed buildings.
Enduring the aftershocks of the main earthquake, measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale, residents and rescue teams struggled yesterday Sunday, often with very limited means, to find and retrieve survivors.
Heavy machinery, trucks and bulldozers were moving concrete pieces of buildings that fell in the city of Le Cay, near the epicenter of the earthquake, about 160 kilometers from the capital Port-au-Prince, journalists of the French Agency found, as reported by APE.
The quake affected the southwest Haiti on Saturday at 08:29 (local time; 15:29 Greek time). The Haitian Civil Protection published last night a new, still provisional report of the victims, which speaks of 1,297 dead. Nearly 30,000 homes were destroyed or damaged.
From Marcel François’s two-story house in Caye, only debris remained.
Only thanks to his cell phone, the 30-year-old said, “I’m still alive because I could tell the world outside where I was.”
His younger brother, Job, with the help of neighbors, took three hours to pull him out of the wreckage. The people who saved Marcel François had no means at their disposal – only their hands.
“I was on the bus, I was going to work when the earthquake happened. I managed to talk to Marcel on the phone and he told me “Come and save me, I am overwhelmed by the concrete“”, Explained Job François.
Injured in the head, Marcel François was taken to hospital in shock as he did not know what had happened to his 10-month-old daughter, who was also trapped under the rubble.
«I thought my child was dead. I cried when I arrived at the hospital, I had given up all hope “, admits the thirty-year-old, without hiding his emotion. But thanks to her uncle and neighbors, little Ruth Marley Aliya François was rescued alive, four hours after the quake.
Tropical Storm Grace is approaching
Efforts by rescue teams and citizens to retrieve crushed people may, however, be hampered by the weather: Haiti is approaching the tropical storm Grace, which may cause torrential rains and flash floods, according to the U.S. National Weather Service. It is expected to hit Haiti tonight and the country is on high alert.
Personnel and medicines were sent by the Ministry of Health to the southwestern peninsula, but the supply in its areas earthquake, which is urgent, is a risky venture, due to the continuing insecurity in Haiti for months.
For two kilometers, the only road connecting the capital with the southern part of the country passes through the impoverished suburb of Martisan, which has been under the control of heavily armed gangs since the beginning of June, preventing free movement.
The United Nations has called for a “humanitarian corridor” to be set up to help those affected by the quake. Bruno Maes, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) representative in Haiti, said the UN was calling for a “humanitarian corridor” to be set up to “allow faster and safer movement of goods and people”. “We urge the armed groups to allow humanitarian aid to pass through as soon as possible,” Maes said.
So far, UNICEF has been able to send just one container of medicine to southern Haiti, and its representative has stressed that other aid organizations are urgent in sending supplies.
Jerry Chandler, head of Haiti Civil Protection, said authorities were working to clear the road through Martisan, but that most aid was currently being flown in by helicopter, aircraft and boat.
Posts on social networking sites, including statements by the alleged gang leader, indicate that the perpetrators have declared a truce and will allow aid to pass, but there has been no confirmation of this information so far from the government of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
In a state of emergency for a month
Several countries, including the United States, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Ecuador, have announced that they are offering assistance by sending staff, packaged portions of food, and medical supplies.
The U.S. military announced today that it will launch a joint relief mission, with the deployment of a team already assessing the situation in the affected areas and air surveillance. Four helicopters have been mobilized to transport and airlift patients.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who declared a month-long state of emergency in the four hardest-hit regions, thanked the international community yesterday.
“We want a more adequate response than after the 2010 earthquake. All foreign aid must be coordinated by the Civil Protection Directorate,” the head of state said, urging his fellow citizens to show “unity”.
“Put aside your differences,” Mr Henry warned residents of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, which has plunged into an even deeper crisis since the July 7 assassination of President Jouvenel Moise.
The earthquake of January 12, 2010, with a magnitude of 7.0, had destroyed much of the capital and several cities in the province. More than 200,000 people were killed, another 300,000 were injured and more than 1.5 million Haitians were left homeless at the time.
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