Cardinal Chibly Langlois of Les Cayes, president of Haiti’s bishops’ conference, has been injured, while a Catholic priest was among hundreds who died early in the morning of August 14 after a 7.2 intensity earthquake shook Haiti.
Speaking to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish language news agency, Akim Kikonda, director for Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in Haiti, said Cardinal Langlois “is hurt, but his life is not in danger.” The cardinal, 62, was created the first Haitian cardinal by Pope Francis on Feb. 22, 2014.
“CRS has spoken with the priestly residence in Les Cayes and we have reports that the house has been severely damaged. Unfortunately, we were informed of three fatalities, one priest and two employees,” said Kikonda.
Kikonda also reported to ACI Prensa that “all of CRS personnel are safe and sound, but unfortunately one of our employees’ wife died and his baby is gravely injured.”
The earthquake happened at 8:30 a.m. local time, affecting all the country, but especially the region of Les Cayes, in the southwestern region of Haiti.
Kikonda said the local public hospital has been overwhelmed by the number of emergencies, and is turning away most of the injured.
“We are currently evaluating the extent of the damage… Once we have a full evaluation of the injured, dead and affected, we will proceed to provide emergency services, especially to the poorest and most vulnerable people,” he said.
Reuters reported that at least 304 people died and hundreds were injured after a major earthquake struck southwestern Haiti on Saturday, reducing churches, hotels, schools and homes to rubble in the latest tragedy to hit the impoverished Caribbean nation.
The 7.2-magnitude quake, which was followed by a series of aftershocks, struck 8 km from the town of Petit Trou de Nippes, about 150 km west of the capital Port-au-Prince, at a depth of 10 km, the United States Geological Survey said.
That made the temblor which was felt as far away as Cuba and Jamaica potentially more severe than the magnitude 7 earthquake 11 years ago that killed tens of thousands on the island.
This one — which occurred around 8:30 a.m. local time — hit farther away from the capital, however. In Port-au-Prince, it was strongly felt but did not appear to have caused major damage, according to Reuters witnesses.
Still, Haiti’s Civil Protection service said the preliminary death toll stood at 304, with at least 1,800 injured and more people unaccounted for. Preliminary rescue operations by emergency teams and ordinary citizens had enabled many people to already be recovered from the debris.
At least 949 homes, seven churches, two hotels and three schools had been destroyed, it said. A further 723 homes, one prison, three health centres and seven schools had been damaged although there was no major damage to port, airport or telecoms infrastructure.
The area shuddered again late on Saturday when a 5.8 magnitude aftershock hit, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said. It was not immediately clear what impact it caused.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who flew over the region to survey the damage, declared a month-long state of emergency.
The nearest big town was Les Cayes, where many buildings collapsed or suffered major damage, authorities said. – with a report from Catholic News Agency and Reuters
