At least 304 dead after strong earthquake hit Haiti

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More than 300 people were killed after a deadly earthquake hit Haiti.

Haitians worked through the night to move between destroyed buildings in search of friends and relatives trapped in the rubble after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake flattened hundreds of homes.

Southwest Haiti bore the brunt of the blow, particularly in and around Les Cayes.

As of Saturday evening, Haitian officials had recorded at least 304 dead and more than 1,800 wounded.

Churches, hotels, hospitals and schools were badly damaged or destroyed, while the walls of a prison were opened due to the violent vibrations that shook Haiti at 8:29 that morning.

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“We need to show a great deal of solidarity with the emergency,” said Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henri, a neurosurgeon who was pushed to the forefront of the troubled country after the horrific assassination of President Jovenel Moise on July 7.

It comes 11 years after another major earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people.

Haiti has been without a head of state since the assassination of its president last month.

Post-Saturday video footage, posted on social media, showed residents reaching into narrow holes in piles of fallen stones to extricate shocked and stunned people from the wreckage of walls and ceilings that collapsed around them.

Access to the hardest-hit areas has been complicated by deteriorating law and order that has left major access routes in parts of Haiti in the hands of gangs, although unconfirmed reports on social media have indicated they will allow aid to pass through.

After the assassination of Moise, which authorities claimed was carried out by a group of Colombian mercenaries and accomplices from Haiti, Prime Minister Henry said officials would aim for an election to choose a new president as soon as possible.

However, reports earlier this week indicated that the tentatively scheduled vote for September won’t take place until November, and the chaos caused by Saturday’s natural disaster will likely make the task of holding a quick election more difficult.

The earthquake caused earthquakes that reached Jamaica and Cuba, and soon countries in the region offered assistance to Haiti.

“I am saddened by the devastating earthquake that occurred in Saint-Louis-de-Sud, Haiti this morning. Through USAID, we support efforts to assess damage and assist recovery and rebuilding efforts,” said US President Joe Biden.

Haitians have long suffered from political instability, at the hands of international aid efforts and peacekeeping deployments over the past decade.

A sexual misconduct scandal centered on Oxfam International spoiled the record of philanthropic workers in Haiti, while a cholera outbreak linked to UN peacekeepers killed thousands.

Tennis star Naomi Osaka, whose father hails from Haiti, expressed on Twitter that she regretted the recent earthquake, saying that she would give all the prize money she won at next week’s tournament to relief efforts.

“I know that our ancestors’ blood is strong, and we will continue to rise,” she said.

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