Strong Haiti earthquake booked by torrential rain from Fred, Grace

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Tropical Storm Grace is expected to reach Haiti early next week, just as the nation will recover from a powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast on Saturday. The Associated Press said at least 29 people died in the quake.

The storm is expected to reach Haiti by Monday and is expected to bring 2 to 4 inches of rain to parts of the country, according to the AccuWeather forecast service.

The storm may bring strong winds and floods, affecting search and rescue efforts. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Fred dumped heavy rain in Haiti on Wednesday, although by then it had weakened to a tropical depression. However, many residents were left without electricity.

AccuWeather reported Saturday, days before Tropical Storm Grace expected to reach Hispaniola — the island that contains Haiti and the Dominican Republic — that the storm had winds of up to 45 miles per hour. Several other places in the Caribbean have been placed under a tropical storm warning.

Farid is expected to follow a path similar to Tropical Storm. The storm could encounter some African dust, which could limit its strength, according to AccuWeather.

The National Hurricane Center is “closely watching” the storm because it is Hispaniola, the Hurricane Center said in a statement to Newsweek. According to the statement, the Tropical Storm Watch, which was issued for the Dominican Republic, is likely to be “expanded” to include Haiti.

The statement said it was too early to know exactly how Tropical Storm Grace would specifically affect Haiti.

Heavy rains from Farid threatened serious floods and mudslides, just days before the earthquake, according to the Associated Press.

A video clip shows severe flooding in the neighboring Dominican Republic after the storm.

Tropical depression #Fred is moving across the northeastern Caribbean right now, passing over the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Heavy rains still cause flooding, but the island’s high mountains have weakened the storm, and now there are eyes in Cuba, Florida and the eastern Gulf of Mexico. pic.twitter.com/px7Jr0nISS

– WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) August 12, 2021

Newsweek previously reported that the quake occurred on Saturday morning about 7.5 miles northeast of Saint-Louis-de-Sud. It was so powerful that the US Tsunami Warning System temporarily issued a tsunami warning. Other countries that may be included are the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the United States’ small outlying islands, and Cuba.

In addition to the high death toll, many homes in Haiti may also be affected by the earthquake, Newsweek previously reported.

US President Joe Biden authorized an immediate response, according to the Associated Press.

Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he was rushing aid to affected areas, with towns devastated and hospitals overwhelmed, according to the Associated Press. A state of emergency was declared for a month.

Previously, Haiti was devastated by powerful earthquakes. In 2010, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake killed an estimated 300,000 people and displaced more than a million people. Many places in Haiti continue to recover from the massive devastation.

Updated at 2:26 PM ET, with additional information.

Civil Protection Director-General Jerry Chandler speaks during a press conference in Port-au-Prince on August 14, 2021, after an earthquake struck the southwestern peninsula of the country. – A powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti early Saturday morning, killing at least 29 people and destroying buildings in the disaster-stricken Caribbean nation still recovering from a devastating 2010 earthquake. The epicenter was the tremor, which shook homes and pushed Panicked locals scramble for safety, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) by road west of the center of the densely populated capital, Port-au-Prince. REGINALD LOUISSAINT JR / AFP via Getty Images

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