Haiti earthquake death toll rises to 1,297

The Civil Protection Authority in Haiti said yesterday that the death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck the south of the country has risen to 1,297.

The US Geological Survey issued a red alert after the quake, which struck the region, about 12 kilometers from the city of Saint-Louis-de-Sud, in southern Haiti, with a magnitude of 7.2 on the Richter scale.

The full extent of the destruction and damage to homes and infrastructure in Haiti is not yet clear.

Rescue workers and ordinary Haitians race against time to pull survivors from the rubble of quake-ravaged buildings before an impending tropical storm arrives.

Interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry declared a month-long state of emergency due to the earthquake.

International Red Cross search and rescue efforts are focused on the area around the particularly affected towns of Jeremy and Las Cayes, while rescue supplies have been prepared for at least 4,500 people.

And there may be more problems waiting, in the form of Tropical Storm Grace, where the US National Hurricane Center said the storm could hit the area today, with strong winds and heavy rain worsening the situation in the quake-hit area and hampering rescue efforts.

Offers of help and condolences are pouring in from abroad.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter yesterday that his country, which was a former colonizer of Haiti, "remains by the side of Haiti and its people, and is ready to provide support."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Pope Francis also expressed their condolences.

The Organization of American States, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Canada and the United States also offered their assistance.

Haiti, which is considered the poorest country in the western part of the globe, is still suffering from the damage of an earthquake that struck the country with a magnitude of 7 on the Richter scale on January 12, 2010, killing about 220,000 people and leaving a million others homeless.

The cost of damages from the earthquake, which occurred near the densely populated capital Port-au-Prince, is estimated at $8 billion.

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