![]() ![]() “We still don’t know how many people are under the rubble,” he said. The earthquake, he said, coincided with the festivities to celebrate the town’s patron saint, adding that the hotel likely was full and the small town had more people than usual. Philippe Boutin, 37, who lives in Puerto Rico but visits his family annually in Les Cayes, said his mother was saying morning prayers when the shaking began, but was able to leave the house. He died along with several others when his hotel, Le Manguier, collapsed, the Haitian newspaper Le Nouvelliste reported. ″Once again, Haiti has been hit by adversity,″ Chilean President Sebastian Piñera said.Īmong those killed in the earthquake was Gabriel Fortuné, a longtime lawmaker and former mayor of Les Cayes. USAID will help to assess damage and assist in rebuilding, said Biden, who called the United States a “close and enduring friend to the people of Haiti.”Ī growing number of countries offered help, including Argentina and Chile, which said it was preparing to send humanitarian aid. President Joe Biden authorized an immediate response and named USAID Administrator Samantha Power as the senior official coordinating the U.S effort to help Haiti. ![]() Later, as he boarded a plane bound for Les Cayes, Henry said he wanted “structured solidarity” to ensure the response was coordinated to avoid the confusion that followed the devastating 2010 earthquake, when aid was slow to reach residents after as many as 300,000 were killed. “We have learned that the local hospitals, in particular that of Les Cayes, are overwhelmed with wounded, fractured people.” “The most important thing is to recover as many survivors as possible under the rubble,” said Henry. He said some towns were almost completely razed and the government had people in the coastal town of Les Cayes to help plan and coordinate the response. 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 the damages was known. The agency said injured people were still being delivered to hospitals. Rescue workers and bystanders were able to pull many people to safety from the rubble. Haiti’s civil protection agency said on Twitter that the death toll stood at 304, most in the country’s south. Geological Survey said, and widespread damage was reported in the hemisphere’s poorest nations as a tropical storm also bore down. The epicenter of the quake was about 125 kilometers (78 miles) west of the capital of Port-au-Prince, the U.S. Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he was rushing aid to areas where towns were destroyed and hospitals overwhelmed with incoming patients. PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - A powerful magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck southwestern Haiti on Saturday, killing at least 304 people and injuring at least 1,800 others as buildings tumbled into rubble. Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menu ![]()
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