5.9 Earthquake Hits Haiti; 11 Dead, 100+ Injured

Seven people were reported killed in Port-de-Paix with another four people in Gros-Morne adding to this tally, as Haiti witnessed a 5.9 magnitude earthquake late on Saturday evening. Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency issued a statement about the quake and its impact being felt throughout the island nation, saying, “The shock was felt across all departments of the country, giving rise to panic in several towns.” The agency also reported that since the time the earthquake struck, 135 people were receiving medical attention for injuries sustained because of it. The statement also detailed that Port-de-Paix, Gros-Morne, Chansolme town and the island of Tortuga to the north were the most affected areas by this earthquake.

Haiti witnessed large-scale devastation in 2010 when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck near the capital city of Port-au-Prince, killing thousands of people in the country. Memories of this natural calamity still remained seared into the minds of many of the people, as there was much panic that arose from this earthquake, seeing rescue efforts going into overdrive soon after the tremor had subsided.

The President of Haiti has called for as many resources as can be mustered to be used in the rescue and recovery work that is currently in progress. As of the writing of this article, there is no overall estimate of the total extent of damage caused by this earthquake, and neither is there any definitive count on the total number of people who have been killed or injured so far.