Over 200 die in Haiti 7.2 magnitude earthquake

At least 225 people have been killed after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on Saturday, just days before a tropical storm is expected to make landfall, reports Daily Mail.

The major quake hit five miles from the town of Petit Trou de Nippes, about 7.5 miles west of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, and was felt across the Caribbean with people fleeing their homes for fear that buildings might collapse.

The 7.2 magnitude quake was stronger and closer to the surface than the magnitude 7.1 quake that damaged much of the capital in 2010 and killed an estimated 300,000 people.

Within hours the US Geological Survey (USGS) estimated ‘thousands of fatalities’ and ‘tens of thousands of injuries in poor mountainous communities’.

Jerry Chandler, Haiti’s director of civil protection, told the Associated Press that the official death toll by midday stood at 29 and that teams will be sent to the area for search and rescue missions.

The US National Hurricane Center has forecasted that Tropical Storm Grace will reach Haiti late Monday night or early Tuesday morning.

Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he was mobilizing all available government resources to help victims in the affected areas, and declared a one-month state of emergency for the whole country.

He said he would not ask for international help until the extent of the damages is known.

The USGS issued a tsunami warning, saying waves of up to ten feet were possible along the coastline of Haiti but it soon lifted the warning despite a series of smaller aftershocks that continued to shake the island.

Six aftershocks followed the quake and the USGS registered three of them had at least a 4.5 magnitude. A 5.2-magnitude aftershock hit about 12miles northwest of Cavaillon, Haiti, according to the USGS.