'Tents ASAP': Earthquake-devastated Haiti rushing to help victims as Tropical Depression Grace closes in

John Bacon, USA TODAY
·4 min read

Thousands of Haitians were scrambling to find shelter Monday as a tropical depression bore down on the tiny, island-sharing nation devastated by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake.

The death toll from Saturday's temblor stood at almost 1,300; thousands more people were injured. Over 7,000 homes were destroyed and another 5,000 were damaged. Hospitals, schools, offices and churches were also left shattered by the temblor.

Social media buzzed with urgent requests for help.

"We need to get the people affected by the earthquake tents ASAP," tweeted political activist Kinsley Jean. "A tropical storm is coming and most of them are sleeping outside."

Tropical Depression Grace on Monday brought high winds and heavy rains to the island Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic. Haiti could see up to 15 inches of rain in some areas before the storm passes Tuesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center warned.

"This heavy rainfall may lead to flash and urban flooding and possible mudslides," hurricane specialist Robbie Berg said.

The quake, centered 80 miles west of Port-au-Prince, triggered landslides and toppled entire towns. Desperate survivors dug through rubble searching for loved ones, clinging to fading hope that the would be found alive.

Haiti's Civil Protection Agency said it was receiving humanitarian aid and was bringing relief to the southern end of nation where the quake was most destructive.

A man walks on a collapsed building in Saint-Louis-du-Sud, Haiti, Monday, Aug. 16, 2021, two days after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the southwestern part of the hemisphere's poorest nation on Aug. 14.
A man walks on a collapsed building in Saint-Louis-du-Sud, Haiti, Monday, Aug. 16, 2021, two days after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the southwestern part of the hemisphere's poorest nation on Aug. 14.

"We continue to conduct assessments, collect and obtain technical information on victims and property damage on the ground in an effort to help us better coordinate our response," the agency said.

'Losses will be high': How Haiti's earthquake compares with its 2010 quake in size, devastation

In the coastal town of Les Cayes, Jennie Auguste was lying on a mattress on an airport’s tarmac with wounds in the chest, abdomen and arm. Hospitals and clinics in Les Cayes are overwhelmed, so Auguste awaited space at a local hospital or access to the small planes that ferry injured people to Port-au-Prince.

“There has been nothing. No help, nothing from the government,” said Auguste’s sister, Bertrande.

Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who visited some of the worst-hit areas, lauded the "dignity and courage" of citizens helping each other amid the rubble.

"Aid management will be speeded up," Henry said. "We are going to increase our energies tenfold to reach, in terms of assistance, the maximum number of victims possible."

'I hope they hear us praying': More than 1,200 dead in Haiti earthquake as global support pours in

Samantha Power, the head of the United States Agency for International Development, deployed the agency's Disaster Assistance Response Team to Haiti. Skyler Badenoch, CEO of the Florida nonprofit Hope for Haiti, says the organization is gearing up to distribute $60 million worth of first aid supplies and medical equipment.

Martin Griffiths, the United Nations under-secretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, said his agency was allocating $8 million to support the humanitarian response.

"This allocation will provide essentials like health care, clean water, emergency shelter and sanitation for people affected by the disaster," he said.

Haiti, with a population of 11 million and the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, already was struggling mightily with the pandemic, gang violence, worsening poverty and political instability following the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. The election to replace him was recently delayed from next month until November.

The unsettled political and social atmosphere could slow the flow of aid to those in need, experts warn. Art delaCruz, CEO of Team Rubicon, a nonprofit that deploys emergency response teams, said the first briefing his teams had with support teams in the United States was about security.

“The assassination of the president, the almost gang-like existence there, it really increases the risk to organizations like ours that deploy into this situation,” delaCruz said.

Haiti has never fully recovered from a less powerful but more destructive quake that rocked the country in 2010. The death toll from that 7.0 magnitude temblor, which struck about 15 miles west of Port-au-Prince, has ranged from 100,000 to 300,000 people. Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses also were destroyed.

Once again, Haiti must recover and rebuild.

"I would like to salute the capacity for resilience and the dignity of the victims, despite their great sadness," Henry said.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Haiti struggles with earthquake recovery as Grace bears down

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