- Tropical Depression Grace has arrived over Haiti, drenching the Caribbean nation still reeling from Saturday’s 7.2-magnitude earthquake
- The US National Hurricane Center warned Grace could cause flash flooding and mudslides in the disaster zone
- Rescuers are still looking for survivors of the earthquake which struck the southwestern peninsula of the island near the city of Les Carres
- On Monday, officials reported at 1419 people had been killed and at least 6000 more had been injured
Tropical Depression Grace has arrived over Haiti, drenching the Caribbean nation still reeling from Saturday’s 7.2-magnitude earthquake.
The US National Hurricane Center warned Grace could cause flooding and mudslides in the disaster zone. The tropical depression is also projected to pass over the Dominican Republic on the east of the Hispaniola island.
Tropical Depression #Grace Advisory 14A: Grace Continues to Produce Very Heavy Rainfall Over Portions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Threat of Flooding and Mudslides Will Continue Through Tonight. https://t.co/VqHn0uj6EM
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 16, 2021
Rescuers are still looking for survivors of the earthquake which struck the southwestern peninsula of Haiti near the city of Les Carres, home to around 100,000 people.
On Monday, officials reported 1419 people had been killed and at least 6000 more had been injured, although they did warn the death toll could rise further.
It is not Haiti’s first experience with earthquakes. In 2010 the country was struck by a 7.0-magnitude quake which killed more than 200,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.
Although it registered a lower magnitude, the quake 11 years ago was far more devastating than Saturday’s. The 2010 event struck much closer to the capital Port-au-Prince where 2 million people lived.
The most recent earthquake came at a time when the poorest country in the Americas was already facing significant challenges: the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in the face of gang fighting in Port-au-Prince and a period of political transition in the wake of the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.