PORT-AU-PRINCE, Aug 15 — At least 304 people died and hundreds were injured or missing after a major earthquake struck southwestern Haiti on yesterday, authorities said, reducing churches, hotels and homes to rubble in the latestThe 7.2-magnitude quake, which was followed by a series of aftershocks, struck 8 km from the town of Petit Trou de Nippes, about 150 km west of the capital Port-au-Prince, at a depth of 10 km, the United States Geological Survey said.
Still, Haiti’s Civil Protection service said the preliminary death toll stood at 304, with at least 1,800 injured and Prime Minister Ariel Henry declared a month-long state of emergency. His wife and 2-year-old child had been bathing and rushed out to the street, naked, just before the front of the house crumbled. Simon gave his wife his shirt and they took refuge in the courtyard of a church with other locals. His mother’s house had also collapsed.
The US Tsunami Warning System issued a tsunami warning after the quake, lifting it shortly thereafter. That region had only recently recovered from Hurricane Matthew, which struck in 2016, killing hundreds and causing widespread devastation. Haiti is now in the probable track of Tropical Storm Grace which could bring heavy rains early next week.