• Haiti, earthquake: three days of mourning.

    The provisional toll worsens: 1,941 dead and 6,900 injured

  • In Haiti the earth shakes again: the images of the collapses caused by the earthquake

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August 18, 2021 The death toll of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on Saturday has risen to almost two thousand deaths, 1,941 to be exact.



The government has decreed three days of mourning for the victims, while the world mobilizes to send assistance: there are 9,900 injured and 60,000 homes have been destroyed. Many still missing. 



During the rescue operations, which continue despite the tropical storm Grace having arrived on the island with strong wind and incessant rain, yesterday 16 people were found still alive under the rubble of a former UN building in the village of Brefet. The office of the interim premier, Ariel Henry, stressed that the humanitarian situation in Haiti is "very worrying". 



Save the Children raises the alarm: desperate need for food and shelter for children. A European civil protection team on site.



Save the Children: in dire need of aid


After the devastating earthquake, the children living on the streets of Les Cayes, in the west of the island, are in desperate need of food, water and shelter despite the efforts to help in the less accessible. This is the alarm from Save the Children, the international organization that has been fighting for over 100 years to save children at risk and guarantee them a future. Les Cayes was one of the areas most affected by the earthquake. Tropical Storm Grace struck the area on Monday evening and although it did not cause much damage, the strong winds and rains affected people living outdoors.



It is estimated that more than 1.1 million people in Haiti were on the verge of famine before the earthquake, including hundreds of thousands of children. In the Les Cayes area, around 160,000 people were already starving every day without enough food and nearly 40,000 people were on the verge of famine.



European team in Haiti in the next few hours


A team of experts, made up of healthcare personnel, structural engineers, technicians and logisticians from six European Union countries, will reach Haiti in the next few hours. Also departing an Italian doctor, specialist in maxi emergencies, in the group, activated within the European Civil Protection Mechanism, at the request of the local authorities. The task of the European experts will be to guarantee the necessary support to the Haitian authorities in the assessment of priorities and in the coordination of relief operations and emergency management.



The UN allocates 8 million euros


"The United Nations has allocated $ 8 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to provide essential health care, clean water, emergency shelter and sanitation to all those affected" by the earthquake in Haiti. This was announced by the UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres.



"Rescue convoys reached communities in Les Cayes, Jérémie and Nippes today," continued Guterres, noting that "we will continue to enhance our response to the most affected areas even as tropical storm Grace approaches Haiti with its threat. of heavy rains and sudden floods ". The secretary general then sent a message to the people of the island: "You are not alone. We will be by your side and support you at every stage of the journey to get out of this crisis ".



EU,


first 3 million euro allocated The EU has allocated the first 3 million euro for humanitarian aid to meet the most urgent needs of communities hit by the violent earthquake. This was announced by the EU Commission. "The urgent humanitarian needs - underlines Janez Lenarcic, 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 dire situation even more. The earthquake strikes at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic and growing insecurity were already a threat to the country. We 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 funding will meet the most 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.



The CEI allocates 1 million


The Presidency of the CEI has decided to allocate one million euros from the OttoxMille funds that citizens allocate to the Catholic Church, to deal with the Haitian emergency. The sum will be used to finance, through Caritas Italiana, "effective interventions to respond to the numerous new needs".



The Presidency of the CEI also invites us to pray next Sunday (22 August), in all parishes, for peace in Afghanistan and for the victims of the Haiti earthquake. "Here the earthquake last Saturday caused numerous deaths, injuries and significant material damage - reads a note -. Caritas Italiana has been in the country since 2010, after another serious earthquake of magnitude 7.0 struck the capital Port-au Prince, causing more than 200,000 victims ". Since then, the CEI Presidency continues, "it has been constantly present with its operators, supporting the national Caritas and the diocesan and parish Caritas with emergency and reconstruction interventions, but above all guaranteeing accompaniment aimed at developing local capacities".