Earthquake strikes Haiti following deadly flooding that displaced thousands
A 4.9 magnitude earthquake hit southern Haiti early Tuesday following deadly flooding that displaced thousands of people in the country over the weekend.
The earthquake struck near the southern city of Jeremie, leaving at least three dead and several injured in a collapsed building, The Associated Press reported.
Haiti’s chief seismologist, Claude Prépetit, told the Miami Herald that early reports indicated that “a lot of damage was done and there are people who died.”
The earthquake comes as heavy rain over the weekend caused rivers to overflow and led to deadly flooding and landslides in Haiti.
The widespread flooding has displaced over 13,000, with the western part of the country being the most affected, according to The New York Times. Meanwhile, 11 people have been reported missing.
As of Monday, at least 42 people were dead and 85 injured. Emergency response groups have been deployed to help those affected by the flooding, CNN reported.
The World Food Programme announced Monday that it was working to provide “immediate help to people affected by excess rainfall this past weekend.”
🌊Floods in #Haiti
WFP is working with @Pwoteksyonsivil to provide immediate help to people affected by excess rainfall this past weekend.
We'll start providing hot meals to displaced people in the coming hours & are mobilizing ready-to-eat rations & dry food.
(file photo) pic.twitter.com/stNuZEjU2G— WFP Haiti (PAM) 🕊️ (@WFP_Haiti) June 5, 2023
As humanitarian groups work to help those impacted, experts warn that the hurricane season, which began on June 1, could lead to more dangerous flooding in the country.
“With the start of the hurricane season, similar or more intense phenomena are to be expected in the coming months,” a report from the United Nations reads.
