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Haiti earthquake death toll rises to 2,189

Published

5 years ago

August 19, 2021

The confirmed death toll from a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on Saturday has risen to 2,189, the country’s civil defence agency reported.

The agency in a tweet said the number of people injured in the earthquake rose to over 12,200, while 332 people were still missing.

The agency said four days after the quake, many survivors were still waiting for urgently needed support.

“There is a serious problem with the distribution of aid,” wrote journalist Nancy Roc on Twitter on Wednesday.

Media, Les Cayes and Jeremie said so far, aid is only reaching the two largest towns in the affected area in the south-west of the Caribbean nation.

The newspaper Le Nouvelliste reported that smaller communities were being neglected, with calls for help to the national authorities going unanswered.

The paper cited Jerry Chandler, the head of the civil defence agency, as saying that the passage of tropical storm Grace through the region and the resulting bad weather had made the distribution of aid more difficult.

According to reports on social media, many places continued to lack the most basic necessities, food, medicine and tents.