An earthquake killed at least four people and injured 36 in western Haiti on Tuesday, a local disaster relief agency said, while the country already faced deadly floods.
• Also read: At least 42 dead and thousands displaced after floods in Haiti
Three of those who died “are members of the same family and were killed when their house collapsed,” Christine Monquélé, head of civil protection in Grand’Anse department, told AFP.
“We are saddened by the loss of life, destruction and suffering of the Haitian people caused by the earthquake,” said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in New York.
The 4.9-magnitude earthquake struck just after 5 a.m. at a depth of 10 km and about 9 km from the coast in the country’s southwestern peninsula, according to the American Institute of Geophysics (USGS). The Caribbean is regularly devastated by earthquakes.
The southwestern peninsula was previously devastated by a powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake in August 2021, killing more than 2,200 people and destroying more than 130,000 homes.
- Listen to the interview with Étienne Côté-Paluck, correspondent for the press in Haiti, on Benoit Dutrizac’s show QUB radio :
In 2010, a magnitude 7 earthquake in the country killed more than 200,000 people. The earthquake had reduced the capital Port-au-Prince to rubble and brought 1.5 million people onto the streets.
Storms also hit the country last weekend, leaving at least 51 dead, 18 missing and 140 injured, according to a new report by Haitian authorities, quoted by the United Nations on Tuesday.
“The United Nations stands ready to work with the Haitian authorities and other partners to alleviate the suffering of those in need, whether related to the earthquake or other natural disasters, floods and landslides in recent days,” said Stéphane Dujarric.
He said the World Food Program was preparing to distribute around 350,000 meals and other food aid “to those most in need”.
But “uncertainty and road damage are hampering relief efforts,” he said, as the country is plagued by gang violence.