Haiti Earthquake Death Toll Hits 1,941, Government Promises Better Handling

Members of the Cuban Medical Brigade treat earthquake victims in Haiti. (Antara/Reuters-HO-Cuban Medical Brigade)

JAKARTA - The death toll from the devastating earthquake that hit southwest Haiti last week jumped to 1,941 on Tuesday, as the search for survivors continued after the tropical storm passed.

Residents lack food, need shelter and medical assistance. Meanwhile, local hospitals are trying to continue treating all of the injured, with the official tally standing at 9,915, with many still missing or under rubble, the Civil Protection Service said Tuesday afternoon.

"There weren't enough doctors and now he's dead," said Lanette Nuel, sitting listlessly beside her daughter's body outside the main hospital of Les Cayes, one of the cities worst hit by the earthquake and torrential rain and windstorms. .

Saturday's quake knocked down tens of thousands of buildings in Haiti, America's poorest country, which is still recovering from an earthquake 11 years ago that killed more than 200,000 people.

Relief efforts have been complicated by circumstances and difficult road access from the capital to the south, due to the control of armed gangs at key points. Flash floods and landslides after Tropical Storm Grace, further complicate matters.

"Countless Haitian families who have lost everything in the earthquake are now literally living with their feet submerged in the floodwaters," said Bruno Maes, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) representative in Haiti.

"Today, about half a million Haitian children have limited or no access to shelter, clean water, health care and nutrition."

Meanwhile, hospitals in Les Cayes, about 150 km (90 miles) west of the capital Port-au-Prince, were overwhelmed on Tuesday than ever before as patients previously treated in tents outside the hospital were forced to move inside to escape the tropical storm.

Director Peterson Gede said Medics were doing the best they could, but it wasn't enough.

"Medics are doing the best they can, but it's not enough. We can't treat all the patients. And we've received supplies, but it's not enough," said Director Peterson Gede.

In a town on Les Cayes that contains many children and infants, more than a hundred people rushed to repair a makeshift cover made of wooden poles and tarpaulins that was destroyed by Tropical Storm Grace overnight.

Mathieu Jameson, vice chairman of a committee formed by local residents, said hundreds of people there were in dire need of food shelter and medical care.

"We don't have a doctor. We don't have food. Every morning more people come. We have no bathroom, no place to sleep. We need food, we need more umbrellas," Jameson said, adding the city was still waiting for help. government.

Separately, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) said it had resumed rescue and relief operations on Tuesday morning, after suspending during the storm and working with international partners to increase aid.

Several major hospitals were badly damaged, hampering humanitarian efforts, as were the focal points of many devastated communities, such as churches and schools. Doctors worked in makeshift tents outside the hospital to save the lives of hundreds of injured people, including children and the elderly.

Rescue workers have been digging with residents through the rubble in an attempt to reach the bodies, though few voices hope to find anyone alive. The smell of dust and rotting bodies filled the air.

"We came from all over to help, from the north, from Port-au Prince, from everywhere," said Maria Fleurant, a firefighter from northern Haiti.

With some 37,312 houses destroyed in the quake, according to Haitian authorities, and many of them still unearthed, the death toll is expected to rise.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who was sworn in less than a month ago after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, vowed to deliver humanitarian aid better than after the 2010 earthquake.

Despite billions of dollars of aid money pouring into Haiti after the earthquake and Hurricane Matthew in 2016, many Haitians say they see little benefit from uncoordinated efforts, amid persistent shortages of food and basic goods.

"The earthquake was a major disaster that hit us in the middle of hurricane season," Henry told reporters, adding that the government would not repeat "the same thing" it did in 2010.

To note, the United Nations said it had allocated about $8 million in emergency funds to provide essential health care, clean water, emergency shelter and sanitation for all affected people.

"We will continue to scale up our response to the worst-affected areas," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement.