Rome, 17 August 2021 – The budget of the earthquake 7.2 which struck southwestern Haiti on Saturday. The numbers provided by the civil protection of the country are still provisional and the update released today indicates an increase in confirmed deaths to 1,941 and over 9,900 injured. The damage count also continues, they are more than 84,000 homes damaged, of which at least 60,000 have been destroyed, and the consequences are also serious on public infrastructures, including hospitals, schools and bridges. UNICEF estimates that approximately 1.2 million people are affected by the earthquake, including 540,000 children.
And to create further difficulties, as well as to slow down the rescue, since last night the Caribbean island was hit by the heavy rains of the tropical storm Grace. According to the American Hurricane Center, flooding and landslides are feared in parts of the island of Hispaniola, where Haiti and the Dominican Republic are located. In some areas the water could reach a height of 25 centimeters, with peaks of 38.
International aid
“The United Nations has allocated 8 million dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund to provide essential health care, clean water, emergency housing and sanitation to all those affected “by the earthquake in Haiti. This was announced by the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres. “Today the rescue convoys reached the communities in Les Cayes, Jérémie and Nippes”, while “we will continue – added the UN secretary – to strengthen our response to the most affected areas even if the tropical storm Grace approaches Haiti with the its threat of heavy rains and flash floods “.
The EU Commission has announced that it has allocated i first 3 million euros for humanitarian aid to meet the most urgent needs of the communities affected by the earthquake of 14 August. “The urgent humanitarian needs – underlines Janez Lenarčič, Commissioner for Crisis Management – are due to the devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit Haiti. The EU is rapidly mobilizing support for this already extremely fragile country, where hurricanes
and heavy rains aggravate the terrible situation even more. The earthquake strikes at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic and growing insecurity were already a threat to the country. Are ready to provide further assistance“.
In order to ensure the fastest possible intervention, EU funds will be implemented by humanitarian partners already active in emergency response and will support and strengthen their capacity to rapidly deliver humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable Haitians. The first funds allocated will be used for more immediate needs such as the provision of medical assistance to overwhelmed local hospitals, water, sanitation, shelter and protection services for the most affected and disadvantaged communities.
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