Floods and an earthquake hit Haiti this week–killing over 40 people, and displacing thousands.
The heavy downpour caused massive flooding, claiming 42 lives over the weekend, while the 5.5 magnitude earthquake killed three people on Tuesday.
The United Nations expressed sadness as the troubled island-nation continues to be bombarded with more ills and natural disasters.
The UN said it stood ready to cooperate with Haitian authorities to provide aid to Haitians affected, providing hot meals, ready-to-eat rations and dry food.
Two other earthquakes–6.4-magnitude and a second measuring 5.8 hit Turkey’s southern province of Hatay, on Monday, leaving more people to suffer following devastating twin earthquakes two weeks ago.
Three people reportedly died and 213 others were wounded as the country’s disaster management agency warned residents near the coastal community, to stay away from the coastline in case sea levels rise in wake of the earthquake.
Reuters say the tremors were strong, and damaged buildings. It was also felt in Egypt and Lebanon.
“I thought the earth was going to split open under my feet,” Muna Al Omar, a resident, said as she held her 7-year-old son in her arms.
She was in a tent in a park in central Antakya when the earthquake hit.
People were trapped under buildings and many escaped to take shelter in gymnasiums in the city, toting mattresses, suitcases and pets.
The big picture
Since the country’s powerful earthquakes two weeks ago, 100,000 buildings were destroyed and one million people are homeless.
Today marks the third anniversary of the passage of Hurricane Dorian over the Bahamas.
On September 1, 2019, the monstrous storm caused widespread devastation in Grand Bahama and Abaco and killed many residents on these islands.
Many people remain missing.
Here is a look back at this emotional period in Bahamian history as many Bahamians and Haitian migrants still struggle to regain a normal life some three years later.
A 7.2 magnified earthquake rocked Haiti on Saturday morning reducing buildings to rubble amidst reports of several fatalities.
People fled their homes and ran to the mountains after the quake hit the town of Pete Trou de Nippes around 8:30 am.
A series of aftershocks struck 8 km (5 miles) from the town, about 150 km west of the capital Port-au-Prince, at a depth of 10 km, the United States Geological Survey said.
The quake, though farther away from the capital, was felt strongly.
In the nearest big town, Les Cayes, two residents told Reuters a major hotel and other buildings collapsed. Locals said water had briefly flooded the coastal town, causing panic amid fear of a tsunami.
It is not known how many people died as a result of the quake, but videos circulating social media show residents pulling survivors from the crumbled buildings.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry said on Twitter, “I present my sympathies to the parents of the victims of this violent earthquake that has caused the loss of several lives and material damage in various provinces.”
The hospital in Les Cayes is said to be overwhelmed with injured patients.
It was reported that a former senator Gabriel Fortune was among the dead. He was pulled from a hotel building in Les Cayes.
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