Earthquakes hit southern Haiti: at least two fatalities and dozens injured

A 5.3-magnitude earthquake and a series of smaller tremors have struck southwest Haiti, killing at least two people, injuring dozens and sending panicked residents into the streets. Hundreds of homes damaged while the authorities were forced to close the schools.

The US Geological Survey said that the first earthquake, on Monday, January 24, morning, struck near the city of Les Cayes, about 200km (124 miles) west of the capital, Port-au-Prince, followed by tremors of 4.4 and 5.1 magnitudes.

Two people were killed, The Associated Press and AFP news agencies reported, citing Haiti’s civil protection agency. AFP said a man died when a wall collapsed in Anse-a-Veau, a small coastal town 130 kilometers (80 miles) from Port-au-Prince, while a second man died in a landslide in Fond-des-Negres, 20km (12 miles) further south.

Nearly 200 houses were destroyed and around 600 others damaged in the Nippes district, according to the local civil protection agency. Rescue teams reported about 50 people were injured.

Southern Haiti was devastated by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake in August that destroyed thousands of homes and left families sleeping outside in torrential rains. Also, at least 2,248 people were confirmed killed as of 1 September 2021 and over 12,200 injured.

The Caribbean nation is still recovering from the 2010 quake that killed more than 200,000 people.

Meanwhile, Jean Robert Leger, a resident of the town of Pestel on the southern peninsula, said the impact of Monday’s earthquake appeared to be minimal.

 “In Pestel, there is not so much damage,” he told Reuters news agency by phone. “We see that the houses next to the sea that were already damaged have collapsed more.”

Children ran out of school buildings in Les Cayes and “people were terrified”, even though there was no damage, according to one resident. Sylvera Guillame, director of Haiti’s civil protection agency for the country’s southern region, told Associated Press that the shallow quakes caused panic. He said schools in the area closed and sent children home as a precaution.