Haiti earthquake death toll jumps to 1,297 as rescuers search rubble for survivors
Hospitals in Haiti have become overwhelmed as they treat thousands of people injured in a earthquake that has left 1,297 dead.
Some 13,694 houses have been destroyed, Haiti’s civil protection agency said, suggesting the number of dead could rise further.
Saturday’s 7.2 magnitude quake has left at least 5,700 people injured in the Caribbean nation, with thousands more displaced from their destroyed or damaged homes.
Authorities have been racing to bring doctors to the worst-hit areas before a major storm hits.
Rescue workers have been searching frantically to find survivors, and footage on social media shows civilians pulling distraught people from the debris of walls and roofs that had crumbled around them.
The epicentre of the quake was around 78 miles west of the capital of Port-au-Prince, the US Geological Survey said, and aftershocks continued to jolt the area on Sunday.
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Hundreds killed in Haiti earthquake
Schools, hospitals, hotels and churches have all been badly damaged and destroyed, while the walls of a prison were smashed open by the violent shudders.
The civil protection agency has said the hospitals that were still functioning are struggling to cope with the thousands of people who are injured.
Jerry Chandler, the head of Haiti’s civil protection agency, said: “We do have a serious issue.
“There are very important facilities that are dysfunctional as we speak and those that are functional are receiving an overflow of patients.”
Reports of overwhelmed hospitals come as the nation struggles to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. The 11-million strong country received its first batch of US-donated COVID-19 vaccines last month.
In the northwestern city of Jeremie doctors treated injured patients on hospital stretchers underneath trees and on mattresses by the side of the road, as healthcare centres have run out of space.
People look for survivors in a house destroyed by the earthquake in Les Cayes, Haiti
In Les Cayes, a seafront town of some 90,000 people, rescuers in red hard hats and blue overalls pulled bodies from
the tangled wreckage of one building, as a yellow mechanical excavator nearby helped to shift the rubble.
Aftershocks could be felt throughout the day and night, with the island experiencing six stronger than magnitude 5 and more above 4 by early Sunday.
“We need to show a lot of solidarity with the emergency,” Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry said.
He said aid was being rushed to areas where towns were destroyed and hospitals overwhelmed with patients.
The prime minister declared a one-month state of emergency for the whole country.
“The most important thing is to recover as many survivors as possible under the rubble,” said Mr Henry.
“We have learned that the local hospitals, in particular that of Les Cayes, are overwhelmed with wounded, fractured people.”
People look for survivors in a house destroyed by the earthquake in Les Cayes, Haiti
Rescue efforts will be frustrated by the arrival of Tropical Storm Grace, which is set to lash the island nation with heavy rainfall on Monday.
The US National Hurricane Center also warned of the possibility of flash flooding.
Nearby countries, including the Dominican Republic and Mexico, rushed to send desperately needed food and medicines by air and across Haiti’s land border.
The United States dispatched vital supplies and deployed a 65-person urban search-and-rescue team with specialized
equipment, said Samantha Power, the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The quake demolished hundreds of homes and buildings
Haiti is still rebuilding from a previous major quake 11 years ago and was recovering from the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July.
US President Joe Biden has authorised an immediate response and named USAID administrator Samantha Power to oversee the US relief effort.
Ms Power said the US has sent vital supplies and deployed a 65-person urban search-and-rescue team with specialised equipment.
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Woman and child pulled from Haiti quake rubble
Mr Biden said USAID would help to assess damage and assist in rebuilding and called the US a “close and enduring friend to the people of Haiti.”
Argentina and Chile have also said they will send help.
Some Haitians who remember the aftermath of the earthquake that struck in 2010 spent Saturday night sleeping in the streets.
That tremor struck closer to the capital, Port-au-Prince, and killed up to 300,000 people.
World
Ten explosions near international airport in India-administered part of Kashmir, officials say
Ten explosions have been heard near Srinagar International Airport in India-administered parts of Kashmir, officials have told Reuters news agency.
The blasts followed blackouts caused by multiple projectiles, which were seen in the sky above the city of Jammu earlier on Friday.
Explosions were also heard in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, in the neighbouring Punjab state, according to Reuters.
An Indian military official told the agency that “drones have been sighted” and “they are being engaged”.
It comes as tensions between India and Pakistan across the line of control around the region of Kashmir have boiled over this week, leading to fears of a wider conflict.
On Wednesday morning, India carried out missile strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered parts of the disputed region.
The retaliation came weeks after 26 people, mainly Indian tourists, were shot dead by gunmen in an India-administered part of Kashmir last month.
The government in India said it hit nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites, while Pakistan said it was not involved in the April attack and the sites were not militant bases.
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Explained: India-Pakistan conflict
Around 48 people have been killed since Wednesday, according to casualty estimates on both sides – which have not been independently verified.
India also suspended its top cricket tournament, the Indian Premier League, as a result of rising tensions, while the Pakistan Super League moved the remainder of its season to the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a conference on Friday that the US is in constant contact with both India and Pakistan.
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Conclaves are famously unpredictable affairs – and once again the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the new pope caught many by surprise.
The newly elected Pope Leo XIV won the consensus of the 133 cardinal electors after only four ballots – a fast process for a diverse college of cardinals.
Though his name had circulated among some Vatican watchers, other cardinals had emerged as clear front-runners, including Pietro Parolin – the Vatican’s number two who would have been the first Italian in almost 50 years to become pontiff – or Luis Tagle, a Filipino cardinal looking to become the first Asian pope.
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What are the conclave’s secrecy measures?
Instead, it was the first North American to win the highly secretive process.
So, what went on behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel?
Until Thursday lunchtime, Cardinal Parolin was ahead, gathering between 45 and 55 votes, sources say.
A substantial number, but well short of the 89 votes he needed for a two-thirds majority.
At this point, Cardinal Prevost had between 34 and 44 votes.
But as the Italian struggled to grow his support during the first three rounds of voting, he stepped down from the race, endorsing Prevost instead, Sky News understands.
Read more:
Who is Pope Leo XIV?
List of demands in new pope’s in-tray
How does new pope compare to his predecessors?
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Who is Pope Leo?
An internal battle between Luis Tagle and Pablo Virgilio David – both cardinals hailing from Asia – cancelled out both of their chances.
And a contender from Africa – the most conservative sector of the church – was never likely for a conclave where the overwhelming majority of cardinals had been appointed by Francis, a progressive pontiff, sources say.
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Moment new pope emerges on balcony
An American pope has long been seen as highly improbable, given the geopolitical power of the US.
But Cardinal Prevost was able to draw from across the groups making up the electors: moderate US cardinals, South American cardinals and many European cardinals all coalesced around him.
Italian newspaper La Repubblica said Prevost “certainly attracted cross-party preferences, both ideologically and geographically”.
“In the conclave he was the least American of Americans: Born in Chicago, he lived 20 years in Peru,” the newspaper said.
It added: “As a man used to teamwork, Prevost appeared to many as the right man to make the papacy evolve into a more collegial form.”
Standing on Red Square, this was an intimidating sight, which felt much more like a celebration of war rather than peace.
I could feel the ground shake as the tanks rolled past, their caterpillar tracks on the ancient cobbles providing a deafening clatter.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up in fear as the phalanxes of troops roared “Hurrah” in response to their commander in chief.
And the sight of combat drones being paraded on their launchers was actually quite sickening. Weapons that have been at the forefront of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were paraded in a show of pomp and patriotism.
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin watch the procession. Pic: Reuters
Ukraine war latest: Putin welcomes Xi at Victory Day parade
For the rest of Europe, the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War has been a celebration of peace, but this felt much more like a celebration of war.
And it wasn’t just military hardware on display here, but the very identity of modern Russia.
Pic: Reuters
For this is a country that is now defined by its military and its memory. The glory and sacrifice of 1945 have been weaponised to give credence to Russia’s current course and to make people believe that victory is their right.
For Russians, it served as a rallying cry and there was applause when the troops who have fought against Ukraine marched past.
But for those watching in Kyiv and other European capitals, it was an overt warning that Moscow has no intention of backing down.
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Putin hails sacrifice of Russian troops
The parade was considerably larger in scale than in recent years, when units and hardware have been needed on the battlefield. I think it was a deliberate attempt to project an image of confidence, and so was Vladimir Putin‘s positioning of his guests.
China’s Xi Jinping was given a prime position on the Kremlin leader’s right-hand side. It was no surprise given the economic lifeline Beijing has provided, but it felt like a particularly pointed gesture to the West – that they were looking at a new world order.
Despite that appearance of confidence, there were signs of Moscow’s unease that the parade could be disrupted.
There were snipers on every rooftop. Security was extremely tight. And the mobile internet signal across the city centre was completely shut down for fear of Ukrainian drone attacks, meaning none of the international media that had gathered could broadcast any live transmissions.
After the parade finished, Putin saluted the crowds as they spontaneously erupted into rhythmic shouts of “Rus-si-ya” at the sight of him.
Another PR coup complete without interruption, he will have departed as a very happy man.
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