Breaking

4.9 Magnitude Quake Strikes Southern Haiti; 4 Dead, Dozens Injured



An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.9 struck southern Haiti early Tuesday, killing at least four people and injuring 36 others, authorities said.


The quake struck before dawn near the southwestern coastal city of Jeremie at a depth of six miles (10 kilometers), according to the U.S. Geological Survey.


“I thought the whole house was going to fall on top of me,” Eric Mpitabakana, a World Food Program official in Jeremie, told The Associated Press by phone.


Two homes collapsed in the quake, and a key route that connects Jeremie and Les Cayes was blocked, according to Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency.


Three of the people who died were found under a collapsed house where rescuers were searching for more people, Frankel Maginaire, with Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency in Jeremie told the AP.


He said that several children were hospitalized with injuries they received after they panicked and ran.
A crowd of people gathered around one home that collapsed as they tried to search for survivors in the rubble. They carried out at least one victim wrapped in a sheet.
Mpitabakana said things fell around his house and that he and other colleagues are contemplating sleeping outdoors if there are strong aftershocks.


“There were so many people out on the street, and a lot of panic,” he recalled of the moments after the quake struck.
Claude Prepetit, a geologist and engineer with Haiti’s Bureau of Mines and Energy, told Radio Caraibes that smaller earthquakes that occurred earlier this year in southern Haiti led to the bigger one that struck Tuesday.


The earthquake struck almost two years after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck southern Haiti and killed more than 2,200 people, with Les Cayes sustaining the most damage. Some people who lost their homes last August are still living in camps.


Allen Joseph, a program manager with global aid organization Mercy Corps, said in a phone interview that schools, banks and other institutions in Jeremie remained closed on Tuesday and that rescue teams had been searching for survivors in the rubble earlier.
He said the organization was still evaluating the situation to determine what help might be needed.


“There was a lot of panic,” he said. “Everyone was rushing to get outside…The neighbors were yelling, ‘Go, go, go!'”
Paul Pierre, a driver for a nongovernmental organization based in Jeremie, told the AP in a phone interview that he was barely waking up when he felt the house rocking.


“Everyone ran outside with their children, their babies,” he said. “There were some houses that collapsed.”
Pierre said he remained calm and sought shelter until the earth stopped moving, adding that he’s used to earthquakes.
In 2010, a magnitude 7 quake near the densely populated capital, Port-au-Prince, killed at least 200,000 people and caused widespread devastation to buildings.


Tuesday’s earthquake comes as Haiti struggles to recover from heavy floods over the weekend that killed at least 51 people, injured 140 and flooded nearly 31,600 homes. Prime Minister Ariel Henry has requested international assistance.

(AP)

Follow us on:

AriseNews

Recent Posts

Tinubu: Tax Reforms Pro-Poor, Will Eliminate Colonial Assumptions; No Tax without Outcry

President Tinubu has described the tax reform as pro-poor, emphasising its necessity despite resistance from…

3 hours ago

Tinubu: Nigeria’s Lithium, CNG Can Drive Local Automobile Industry, Spur Economic Growth

President Tinubu has highlighted Nigeria’s lithium reserves and CNG potential to attract automobile assembly and…

3 hours ago

Tinubu: No Regrets Removing Subsidies, We Were Spending Our Future

“We were spending our future, not investing,” President Tinubu said, defending the removal of subsidies…

4 hours ago

Tinubu: I Won’t Reduce the Size of My Cabinet, Nigeria is a Large Country

President Tinubu has insisted on retaining his cabinet size, noting that it is necessary for…

4 hours ago

Borrowing Is Not Criminal, President Tinubu Defends 2025 Budget

Tinubu has defended borrowing, calling it essential to correct economic mismatches and invest in long-term…

4 hours ago

Tinubu: I Am Proud Of What My Security Chiefs Are Doing, No Need To Probe Them

Tinubu has said he will not be probing Nigeria’s service chiefs, saying he has confidence…

4 hours ago