Earthquake
Strong earthquake in southwest Pakistan kills at least 20
A powerful earthquake collapsed at least one coal mine and many flimsy mud houses in southwest Pakistan early Thursday, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 200, an official said.
The death toll was expected to rise even further as crews searched in the remote mountainous area, said Suhail Anwar Shaheen, the local deputy commissioner.
At least four of the dead were killed when the coal mine in which they were working collapsed, said Shaheen, citing coal miners in the area. As many as 100 homes also collapsed, burying sleeping residents inside.
The epicenter of the 5.9 magnitude quake was about 14 kilometers (8 miles) north-northeast of Harnai in Baluchistan province, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The initial measurement of the quake’s strength was 5.7 magnitude. It struck about 20 kilometers (12 miles) below the Earth’s surface; shallower quakes tend to cause more damage.
Read: What makes Haiti prone to devastating earthquakes
The area, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Quetta, the provincial capital, is dotted with coal mines, which has Shaheen worried the death toll could rise. It struck in the early morning while scores of miners were already at work, he said.
Most of the population in the area live in sunbaked mud houses, many of which collapsed. Rescue efforts were underway, but Shaheen said it would take hours just to reach many of the hardest-hit areas.
Read: Haiti quake death toll rises to 1,419, injured now at 6,000
Local TV channels showed residents wrapped in blankets sitting on the side of the road waiting for the aftershocks to subside and help to arrive.
The area is remote and already the autumn nighttime temperatures are chilly.
Haiti raises earthquake death toll, passes 2,200
Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency said Sunday that the toll from this month’s magnitude 7.2 earthquake has grown to 2,207, with 344 people still missing.
The previous figure had been 2,189 on Wednesday. The agency said via Twitter that 12,268 people were injured and nearly 53,000 houses were destroyed by the Aug.- 14 quake.
Read: What makes Haiti prone to devastating earthquakes
The new toll comes at a time when relief operations are expanding — the U.S.-based aid agency Samaritan’s Purse opened a field hospital Saturday — but authorities are struggling with security at distribution points. Gangs have hijacked aid trucks and desperate crowds have scuffled over bags of food.
In the hard-hit city of Les Cayes, meanwhile, some attended outdoor church services on Sunday because sanctuaries had been badly damaged by the quake, which was centered on the impoverished nation’s southwestern peninsula.
Momen mourns loss of lives in Haiti quake
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has expressed grief over the loss of lives in the massive earthquake in Haiti.
In a message sent to Foreign Minister of Haiti Claude Joseph, Dr Momen conveyed his deep condolences over the natural disaster and heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved families.
Read:Tensions over aid grow in Haiti as quake’s deaths pass 2K
He wished quick recovery of those badly affected by the deadly earthquake.
‘‘My thoughts and prayers are with your government and the people of Haiti at this difficult time,’’ Dr Momen said.
He hoped that the country would soon be able to overcome the impact of the catastrophe.
Read:FM mourns loss of lives due to wildfires in Algeria
‘‘Bangladesh has been ravaged by natural disasters time and again, but we have overcome these calamities with strong leadership and resilience of the people,’’ the Foreign Minister said.
Haiti quake death toll rises to 1,419, injured now at 6,000
A hospital in southwestern Haiti, where a powerful earthquake flattened homes, shops and other buildings over the weekend, was so overwhelmed with patients that many had to lie in patios, corridors, verandas and hallways. Then a looming storm expected to bring heavy rains Monday night forced officials to relocate them as best they could given the hospital’s poor conditions.
Even those patients were somewhat fortunate. Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency on Monday raised the death toll from Saturday’s earthquake to 1,419 and the number of injured to 6,000, many of whom have had to wait under the burning heat, even on an airport tarmac, for help.
“We had planned to put up tents (in hospital patios), but we were told that could not be safe,” said Gede Peterson, director of Les Cayes General Hospital.
Read: Death toll of powerful earthquake in Haiti soars to 1,297
It is not the first time that staff has been forced to improvise. The refrigeration in the hospital’s morgue has not worked for three months, but after the earthquake struck Saturday, staff had to store as many as 20 bodies in the small space. Relatives quickly came to take most to private embalming services or immediate burial. By Monday only three bodies were in the morgue.
The quake, centered about 125 kilometers (80 miles) west of the capital of Port-au-Prince, nearly razed some towns and triggered landslides that hampered rescue efforts in a country that is the poorest in the Western Hemisphere. Haiti already was struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, gang violence, worsening poverty and the political uncertainty following the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse when the earthquake sent residents rushing to the streets.
The devastation could soon worsen with the arrival of Tropical Depression Grace, predicted to bring strong winds, heavy rain, mudslides and flash flooding. Les Cayes began to see light rain Monday evening, but it could reach 15 inches (38 centimeters) in some areas, the Civil Protection Agency said. Port-au-Prince was already seeing heavier rains.
“We are working now to ensure that the resources we have are going to get to the places that are hardest hit,” said agency head Jerry Chandler, referring to the towns of Les Cayes and Jeremie and the department of Nippes, which are in the country’s southwestern portion.
Injured earthquake victims continued to stream into Les Cayes’ overwhelmed general hospital, three days after the earthquake struck. Patients waited to be treated on stair steps, in corridors and the hospital’s open veranda.
“After two days, they are almost always generally infected,” said Dr. Paurus Michelete, who had treated 250 patients and was one of only three doctors on call when the quake hit.
Read: At least 304 dead, 1800 hurt as powerful quake slams Haiti
Meanwhile, rescuers and scrap metal scavengers dug into the floors of a collapsed hotel Monday in this coastal town, where 15 bodies had already been extracted. Jean Moise Fortunè, whose brother, the hotel owner and a prominent politician, was killed in the quake, believed there were more people trapped in the rubble.
But based on the size of voids that workers cautiously peered into, perhaps a foot (0.3 meters) in depth, finding survivors appeared unlikely.
As work, fuel and money ran out, desperate Les Cayes residents searched collapsed houses for scrap metal to sell. Others waited for money wired from abroad, a mainstay of Haiti’s economy even before the quake.
Anthony Emile waited six hours in a line with dozens of others trying to get money his brother had wired from Chile, where he has worked since Haiti’s last quake.
“We have been waiting since morning for it, but there are too many people,” said Emile, a banana farmer who said relatives in the countryside depend on him giving them money to survive.
Efforts to treat the injured were difficult at the general hospital, where Michelete said pain killers, analgesics and steel pins to mend fractures were running out amid the crush of patients.
“We are saturated, and people keep coming,” he said.
Josil Eliophane, 84, crouched on the steps of the hospital, clutching an X-ray showing his shattered arm bone and pleading for pain medication.
Michelete said he would give one of his few remaining shots to Eliophane, who ran out of his house as the quake hit, only to have a wall fall on him.
Nearby, on the hospital’s open-air veranda, patients were on beds and mattresses, hooked up to IV bags of saline fluid. Others lay in the garden under bed sheets erected to shield them from the brutal sun. None of the patients or relatives caring for them wore face masks amid a coronavirus surge.
Officials said the magnitude 7.2 earthquake left more than 7,000 homes were destroyed and nearly 5,000 damaged from the quake, leaving some 30,000 families homeless. Hospitals, schools, offices and churches also were destroyed or badly damaged.
Underlining the dire conditions, local officials had to negotiate with gangs in the seaside district of Martissant to allow two humanitarian convoys a day to pass through the area, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported. The agency called Haiti’s southern peninsula a “hot spot for gang-related violence,” where humanitarian workers have been repeatedly attacked.
The agency said the area has been “virtually unreachable” over the past two months because of road blocks and security concerns. Agency spokeswoman Anna Jefferys said the first convoy passed through Sunday with government and U.N. personnel. and the U.N. World Food Program plans to send in food supplies via trucks Tuesday.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry declared a one-month state of emergency for the whole country and said the first government aid convoys had started moving help to areas where towns were destroyed and hospitals were overwhelmed.
UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said humanitarian needs were acute, with many Haitians urgently needing health care, clean water and shelter. Children separated from their parents also needed protection, she said.
“Little more than a decade on, Haiti is reeling once again,” Fore said, referring to the 2010 earthquake that ravaged Haiti’s capital, killing tens of thousands. “And this disaster coincides with political instability, rising gang violence, alarmingly high rates of malnutrition among children, and the COVID-19 pandemic — for which Haiti has received just 500,000 vaccine doses, despite requiring far more.”
The country of 11 million people received its first batch of U.S.-donated coronavirus vaccines only last month via a United Nations program for low-income countries.
Medical workers from across the region were scrambling to help as hospitals in Les Cayes started running out of space to perform surgeries.
“Basically, they need everything,” said Dr. Inobert Pierre, a pediatrician with the nonprofit Health Equity International, which oversees St. Boniface Hospital, about two hours from Les Cayes.
Pierre’s medical team was taking some patients to St. Boniface to undergo surgery, but with just two ambulances, they could transport only four at a time.
Working with USAID, the U.S. Coast Guard said a helicopter was transporting medical personnel from the Haitian capital to the quake zone and evacuating injured back to Port-au-Prince. Lt. Commander Jason Nieman, a spokesman, said other aircraft and ships were being sent.
At the Les Cayes hospital, Emma Cadet, 41, a carpenter’s wife, hovered over her 18-year-old son, Charles Owen, as he awaited an operation on his broken arm. He was among the lucky patients to have received pain medication.
Worse off was Nerison Vendredi, 19, lying quiet but alert. No casts or splint would help her because she apparently had suffered internal injuries and could not move.
There were some stories of miracle survivals, but they were becoming fewer as the days passed.
Jacquelion Luxama was leading his goats to a watering hole Saturday when a hillside collapsed on him, trapping him amid boulders and a rockslide that stripped skin from his hip.
“I started yelling, and luckily some other famers heard me, and they came and pulled me out, ” said Luxama, lying on a mattress at the Les Cayes hospital.
Death toll of powerful earthquake in Haiti soars to 1,297
The death toll from a 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Haiti climbed to 1,297 on Sunday, a day after the powerful temblor turned thousands of structures into rubble and set off franctic rescue efforts ahead of a potential deluge from an approaching storm.
Saturday’s earthquake also left at least 5,700 people injured in the Caribbean nation, with thousands more displaced from their destroyed or damaged homes. Survivors in some areas were forced to wait out in the open amid oppressive heat for help from overloaded hospitals.
Read: At least 304 dead, 1,800 hurt as powerful quake slams Haiti
The devastation could soon worsen with the coming of Tropical Depression Grace, which is predicted to reach Haiti on Monday night. The U.S. National Hurricane Center warned that although Grace had weakened from tropical storm strength Sunday, it still posed a threat to bring heavy rain, flooding and landslides.
The earthquake struck the southwestern part of the hemisphere’s poorest nation, almost razing some towns and triggering landslides that hampered rescue efforts in a country already struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, a presidential assassination and a wave of gang violence.
The epicenter was about 125 kilometers (78 miles) west of the capital of Port-au-Prince, the U.S. Geological Survey said, and aftershocks continued to jolt the area Sunday.
In the badly damaged coastal town of Les Cayes, Jennie Auguste lay on a flimsy foam mattress on the tarmac of the community’s tiny airport waiting for anything — space at a hospital or a small plane like the ones ferrying the wounded to the capital. She suffered injuries in the chest, abdomen and arm when the roof collapsed at the store where she worked.
“There has been nothing. No help, nothing from the government,” Auguste’s sister, Bertrande, said.
Read: Rescuers racing in Haiti as storm threatens to follow quake
In scenes widespread across the region hit by the quake, families salvaged their few belongings and spent the night at an open-air football pitch. On Sunday, people lined up to buy what little was available: bananas, avocados and water at a local street market.
Some in the town praised God for surviving the earthquake, and many went to the cathedral, which appeared outwardly undamaged even if the priests’ residence was destroyed.
“We only have Jesus now,” said Johanne Dorcely, whose house was destroyed. “If it wasn’t for Jesus, I wouldn’t be able to be here today.”
Rescuers racing in Haiti as storm threatens to follow quake
The death toll from a magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Haiti soared on Sunday as rescuers raced to find survivors amid the rubble ahead of a potential deluge from an approaching tropical storm.
Saturday’s earthquake left at least 724 dead and 2,800 injured in the Caribbean island nation, with thousands more displaced from their destroyed or damaged homes. Survivors in some areas were forced to shelter in streets or soccer fields with the few belongings they were able to salvage from their homes.
Yet the devastation could soon worsen with the coming of Tropical Storm Grace, which was predicted to reach Haiti late Monday or early Tuesday, bringing the potential for torrential rain, flooding and landslides. The U.S. National Hurricane Center forecast 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of rain in Haiti and the Dominican Republican, with up to 15 inches in some southern parts of the island they share.
The earthquake struck the southwestern part of the hemisphere’s poorest nation, almost razing some towns and triggering landslides that hampered rescue efforts. The disaster added to the plight of Haitians who were already grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, a presidential assassination and a wave of gang violence.
The epicenter of the quake was about 125 kilometers (78 miles) west of the capital of Port-au-Prince, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
Aftershocks continued jolting the area Sunday.
In the badly damaged coastal town of Les Cayes, some families salvaged their few belongings and spent the night at an open-air football pitch. On Sunday morning, people lined up to buy what little was available: bananas, avocados and water at a local street market.
Some in the town praised God for surviving the earthquake, and many went to the city’s cathedral, which appeared outwardly undamaged even if the priests’ residence was destroyed.
“We only have Jesus now,” said Johanne Dorcely, 58, whose house was destroyed. “If it wasn’t for Jesus, I wouldn’t be able to be here today.”Prime Minister Ariel Henry declared a one-month state of emergency for the whole country and said he was rushing aid to areas where towns were destroyed and hospitals overwhelmed with patients. A former senator rented a private airplane to move injured people from Les Cayes to Port-au-Prince for medical assistance.
“The most important thing is to recover as many survivors as possible under the rubble,” said Henry. “We have learned that the local hospitals, in particular that of Les Cayes, are overwhelmed with wounded, fractured people.”Sunday’s count from Haiti’s Office of Civil Protection raised the previous death toll from 304 dead. The agency said more than 7,000 homes were destroyed and nearly 5,000 damaged. Hospitals, schools, offices and churches were also affected.
People in Les Cayes tried to pull guests from the rubble of a collapsed hotel, but as the sun set on Saturday, they had only been able to recover the body of a 7-year-old girl whose home was behind the facility.
“I have eight kids, and I was looking for the last one,” Jean-Claude Daniel said through tears. “I will never see her again alive. The earthquake destroyed my life. It took a child away from me.”
Hospitals were overwhelmed at a moment when Haiti has been struggling with the pandemic and a lack of resources to deal with it. The country of 11 million people received its first batch of U.S.-donated coronavirus vaccines only last month via a United Nations program for low-income countries.
The earthquake also struck just over a month after President Jovenel Moïse was shot to death in his home, sending the country into political chaos. His widow, Martine Moïse, who was seriously wounded in the attack, posted a message on Twitter calling for unity among Haitians: “Let’s put our shoulders together to bring solidarity.”
As he boarded a plane bound for Les Cayes, Henry said he wanted “structured solidarity” to ensure the response was coordinated to avoid the confusion that followed the devastating 2010 earthquake, when aid was slow to reach residents after as many as 300,000 Haitians were killed.
U.S. President Joe Biden authorized an immediate response, calling the United State a “close and enduring friend to the people of Haiti.” He named USAID Administrator Samantha Power to oversee the U.S effort to help Haiti.
Power announced Sunday that USAID was sending a search and rescue team from Virginia t the request of Haiti’s government. The 65-person team will bring specialized tools and medical supplies to assist with the disaster response, Power said on Twitter.
Working with USAID, the U.S. Coast Guard said a helicopter was transporting medical personnel from the Haitian capital to the quake zone and evacuating the injured back to Port-au-Prince.
“For now, the Coast Guard is working where the most urgent need is,” said Lt. Commander Jason Nieman, a spokesman. Another helicopter was being sent from the Bahamas, along with other aircraft and ships, Nieman added.
Argentina and Chile also were among the first nations to promise help.
The North Carolina-based aid group Samaritan’s Purse announced Sunday it would airlift 13 disaster response specialists and 31 tons of emergency supplies to Haiti. Those include shelter materials and water filtration units.
Humanitarian workers said gang activity in the seaside district of Martissant, just west of the Haitian capital, also was complicating relief efforts.
“Nobody can travel through the area,” Ndiaga Seck, a UNICEF spokesman in Port-au-Prince, said by phone. “We can only fly over or take another route.”
Seck said information about deaths and damage was slow coming to Port-au-Prince because of spotty internet service, but UNICEF planned to send medical supplies to two hospitals in the south, in Les Cayes and Jeremie.
Haiti, where many live in tenuous circumstances, is vulnerable to earthquakes and hurricanes. A magnitude 5.9 earthquake in 2018 killed more than a dozen people.
Moderate quake rattles Dhaka
A moderate-intensity earthquake struck the Bangladesh capital on Wednesday morning. Mild tremors were also felt in many parts of the country.
The quake measured 5.2 on the Richter Scale and its epicentre was Lakhipur, about 242 kms north of Dhaka, said Abdul Hamid of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).
Read: Preparedness must to face earthquake aftermath: Speakers
Tremors was felt in Dhaka and several parts of the country at 9.15 am, said the official. No casualties or damage to properties have been reported so far.
Momen advises precaution after quakes jolt Sylhet
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Sunday called for precaution instead of getting panicked after a series of mild quakes were felt in the north-eastern district.
“Don’t get panicked. Stay alert. The government also remains aware of it. We will surely do whatever is needed,” he said in a video message to the people of Sylhet.
Momen said he talked to the relevant ministers and officials including Sylhet City Corporation officials after back to back tremors jolted the area on Saturday and Sunday.
The Foreign Minister also suggested keeping emergency kits and first aid tools at homes for use when required.
Also read: Five quakes hit Sylhet
Momen said it is better to come out in the open in case of any emergency.
He advised the people to call at 999 for any emergency and asked the hospital authorities to keep some beds ready for emergency treatment.
A day after six tremors hit Sylhet on Saturday, another mild quake was felt early Sunday.
Senior Meteorologist of Sylhet Met office Syed Ahmed Chowdhury said the latest quake, measuring 2.8 magnitude on the Richter Scale, was felt at 4:35am.
The epicenter of the earthquake was in the bordering area of the district.
No casualty or damage was reported.
Sylhet City Corporation Mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury and police officials visited the site.
The authorities have identified two buildings as risky and asked the occupants to move to safety.
Additional police have been deployed in the area to maintain security, said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Sylhet Metropolitan Police BM Ashraf Ullah Taher.
Mild tremor shakes Sylhet again
A day after five tremors hit Sylhet on Saturday, another mild quake was felt early Sunday again, creating panic among the people of the district.
Senior Meteorologist of Sylhet Met office Syed Ahmed Chowdhury said the earthquake, measuring 2.8 magnitude on the Richter Scale, was felt at 4:35 am.
The epicenter of the earthquake was in the bordering area of the district.
However, no casualty was reported.
Two multi-storied buildings were tilted on Saturday in the city's Pathantula area after the earthquakes.
Read:Five quakes hit Sylhet
Sylhet City Corporation Mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury, police visited the spot on Saturday night.
The authorities concerned have identified the two buildings as risky and asked the residents of the two buildings to evacuate the place.
Additional police have been deployed in the area to maintain security, said additional deputy commissioner of Sylhet Metropolitan Police (BM Ashraf Ullah Taher.
On Saturday, earthquake jolted the district five times. Fortunately, there were no reports of any casualty or damage to property.
The first quake hit at 10.37 am, followed by tremors at 10.51 am,11.30 am, 11.34 am and 2.00 pm, officials said.
Five quakes hit Sylhet
After four successive earthquakes hit Sylhet on Saturday morning another earthquake jolted the district in the afternoon. Fortunately, there were no reports of any casualty or damage to property.
The first quake hit at 10.37 am, followed by tremors at 10.51 am,11.30 am, 11.34 am and 2.00 pm, officials said.
READ: Strong quake hits Bangladesh & India
Mominul Islam, seismic in-charge of the Dhaka Meteorological Office, said that the quakes were of 4.1 magnitude and their epicentre was Sylhet .
The five earthquakes within three and a half hours have created panic among the people of Sylhet.
Many are suspecting that these are mild tremors ahead of a big one.
Chief meteorologist of the Sylhet Meteorological Office, Sayed Ahmad Chowdhury, said four quakes hit Sylhet in a span of an hour and another in the afternoon.
READ: Earthquake jolts Panchagarh
Kamrul Islam, a resident of Lalbazar area, said that the quakes shook the nine-storey building he lives in. "I saw many people running out of their houses in panic."