An earthquake with a massive tentative magnitude of 7.2 struck Haiti on Saturday morning, the US Geological Survey said, raising fears of destruction similar to the devastating 2010 quake that shook the country.
“Large casualties are likely and the disaster is likely to be widespread. Previous events at this alert level required a national or international response,” USGS said.
According to the USGS, the epicenter of the earthquake was 12 kilometers northeast of Saint-Louis-du-Sud and 10 kilometers deep. It struck five miles from the town of Petit-Trou-de-Nippes in the west of the country, according to the survey.
The people in the capital Port-au-Prince, about 130 kilometers east of the epicenter, felt the quake and many rushed to the street out of fear.
Some fear reliving the trauma of the 2010 earthquake. A 7.0 magnitude quake struck Haiti on January 12, 2010, killing an estimated 220,000 people, displacing around 1.5 million and injuring around 300,000.
Naomi Verneus, a 34-year-old Port-au-Prince resident, said she was jolted awake by Saturday’s earthquake and her bed was shaking, the Associated Press reported.
“I woke up with no time to put my shoes on. We survived the 2010 earthquake and all I could do was run. I later remembered my two children and my mother were still inside. My neighbor left in and told them to. We ran out into the street, “said Verneus.
This is breaking news. Some of what is reported by the media will later turn out to be wrong. We will focus on reports from officials and other agencies, credible news outlets and reporters who are on the ground. We will update as the situation evolves.
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