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  • Writer's pictureSofia Corrales

Haiti Earthquake


Rescue teams are helping search for people after the Haitian earthquake occured

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Haiti in the early hours of August 14th, 2021. A large part of the country was left in ruins.


Leaving behind collapsed buildings, people trapped in rubble and families searching for loved ones, this earthquake caused a death toll of 2,207 people as of August 22.


New York Times correspondent, Maria Abi-Habib, who was in Haiti when the earthquake hit, reported that the damage was “overwhelming.” At the epicenter of the tremors in the southern peninsula, small villages were all destroyed. Particularly distressing was the destruction of churches, since they serve as Haiti’s “social safety network.”


Due to a lack of relief workers and foreign aid, the citizens of Haiti took matters into their own hands. “It’s the people from the neighborhood using their own hands who have been digging and rescuing anyone they can save,” said Jean-David Cassis, a Haitan farmer.


This earthquake hit Haiti especially hard since the country was already dealing with the aftermath of their president’s assassination in July, as well as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The country is also still in recovery from their last major earthquake which took place in 2010.


A seismologist from the United States Geological survey, Susan E. Hough, said that there is a “domino concept” between this earthquake and the one that occurred in 2010. But knowing that the stress patterns on the fault line were affected by the 2010 earthquake doesn’t help predict “which domino is going to fall next,” so to speak.


The US Army is going to set up a field hospital in Les Cayes, one of the hardest hit areas in Haiti, and the British Navy will also help with search and recovery efforts.


If you wish to help the victims of the earthquake, you can go to Haiti Earthquake Relief to find a list of organizations vetted by CNN who are currently accepting donations.




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