Haiti Earthquake: Death toll soars to 1300, US sends rescue teams

Haiti: The US has deployed search and rescue teams to find survivors amid the debris of collapsed buildings in Haiti as the death toll rises due to the massive earthquake on Saturday. [caption id="attachment_36857" align="aligncenter" width="428"] The President and Vice President were briefed on the earthquake in Haiti.[/caption] At least 1,297 people have been killed in a magnitude 7.2 earthquake off the coast of Haiti, according to the country's civil protection agency. The quake was followed by a series of aftershocks, and Tropical Storm Grace is expected to hit the crisis-stricken country today.

The quake struck 12 km northeast of the city of Saint-Luis du Sud on the southwestern Tiburon peninsula of the country.

Prime Minister Ariel Henry declared a state of emergency and promised to “mobilize all the resources of my administration to help victims.”

The earthquake and aftershocks damaged churches, hotels, hospitals and homes. It also caused a major landslide that blocked the main road from Les Cayes to Jeremie on the southwestern tip of the island. The country was still in shock after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise on July 7.

According to the US Geological Survey, the quake occurred on the same fault line that caused the destructive 2010 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people in Haiti.

"Today's earthquake is another setback for Haiti, in addition to political instability and worse violence, Covid-19 and growing food insecurity," Cara Buck, Haiti's acting director of the aid organization Mercy Corps, said in a statement from Port-au-Prince.