Haiti is currently beholding one of the saddest moments in their history as two major disasters struck the country in space of three days. It was a heart wrenching scene as Tropical Storm Grace smashed southern Haiti with drenching rains, piling on misery for survivors of a powerful earthquake.
Meanwhile, flash floods and landslides as a result of the storm, further complicate relief efforts, and incapacitating hospitals in the process.
The devastating Storm Grace caused power outages and spotty communication. This is, after inches of heavy rain and 35mph winds bore down on the embattled region – Les Cayes, just two days after it was hit by the devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake.
As the rain continued to pelt down on Tuesday, August 17, Haitian officials raised the confirmed death toll from Saturday’s 7.2 magnitude earthquake to 1,941, with more than 9,900 injured and 30,000 people left homeless. Officials noted that this number may rise as the rescue team continue to search rubble for survivors.
However, hospitals, already full, are treating patients in patios and corridors. Medical supplies including personal protective equipment for staff and painkillers and splints for patients remain scarce.
“The hospital is in a bad place, with water filling the yard. People are crying for help, for tents, for shelter and for a message of hope,” said Sterens Yppolyte, a 26-year-old trainee doctor at Les Cayes’ Immaculate Conception hospital, who has been unable to get much sleep since his home was partially destroyed by the earthquake.
Moreover, Marjorie Modesty, a psychologist living in Les Cayes, who was helping to coordinate aid deliveries through a family-support organisation she runs, voiced similar despair.
“This is what the country needs: tents, food, medicine, toiletries, water, clothes, rescue equipment and wheelchairs, we need rescuing.”
Marjorie Modesty
Furthermore, a seemingly angry Doctor also added his voice saying, “There simply aren’t the facilities needed to treat people in this remote part of the country as the ones we currently have are under enormous pressure. We have no medicine.”
Meanwhile, a woman who has a very bad broken leg and is also pregnant, speaking to the media, stated that she has no pain relief for two days as there is none at the facility.
Assessing the extent of the damage, Fiammetta Cappellini, country representative for the NGO AVSI, described the harrowing scenes in Les Cayes, where the rain had been pouring for 15 hours.
“We’ve seen 50% of buildings destroyed in the city, and around 80% destroyed in the surrounding rural areas. Roads in and out are blocked, even motorcycles cannot pass. By land, sea, and air, we are isolated.”
Fiammetta Cappellini
However, the earthquake and the storm compound problems facing the impoverished nation, which is already reeling from a political crisis following the assassination of its President last month, July, 2021.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who is in power until fresh presidential election can be held, has declared a month-long state of emergency and urged the world to ‘show solidarity’.
However, the crisis-hit nation which is the poorest nation in the western hemisphere is not a stranger to natural disasters. They have still not recovered from the catastrophic magnitude 7 earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince in January 2010, killing more than 200,000 people and turning much of the chaotic capital to rubble. Though the latest quake was two decimal points bigger in magnitude, it struck a less densely populated region.
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