LES CAYES, Haiti — Heavy rains lashed Haiti on Monday night, complicating rescue efforts and drenching thousands left homeless by a devastating earthquake that killed at least 1,419 people, as hopes dimmed for survivors.
Tropical depression “Grace” churned over the regions of southwest Haiti worst-hit by Saturday’s quake of magnitude 7.2, whipping devastated towns with high winds and torrential rains, causing flooding in at least one area.
The earthquake brought down tens of thousands of buildings in the poorest country in the Americas, which is still recovering from a major quake 11 years ago that killed more than 200,000 people.
The latest disaster comes just over a month after Haiti was plunged into political turmoil by the assassination of President Jovenel Moise on July 7.
Several major hospitals were severely damaged, hampering humanitarian efforts, as were the focal points of many shattered communities, such as churches and schools.
Haitian authorities said on Monday that 1,419 deaths had been confirmed, with some 6,900 people injured.
As hopes began to dim of finding significant numbers of survivors among the wreckage, the storm impeded rescuers in the seaside city of Les Cayes, about 150 km (90 miles) west of the capital Port-au-Prince, which bore the brunt of the quake.
The storm is expected to dump up to 15 inches (38 cm) of water on parts of Haiti, creating a risk of flash floods, according to the US National Hurricane Center.
Rescue workers from across Haiti were digging alongside residents through the rubble on Monday evening in a bid to reach bodies, though few voiced hope of finding anyone alive. A smell of dust and decomposing bodies permeated the air.
As heavy rain began to fall, emergency workers pulled a blood-stained pillow from under the rubble, followed by the corpse of a three-year-old boy who appeared to have died in his sleep during the earthquake.
Shortly after, as the rain intensified, the workers left.
With about 37,312 houses destroyed by the quake, according to Haitian authorities, and many of those still unexcavated, the death toll is expected to rise.
Doctors in battled makeshift tents outside hospitals to save the lives of hundreds of injured, including young children and the elderly.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who was sworn in less then a month ago after Moise’s assassination, vowed to disburse humanitarian aid better than in the wake of the 2010 quake.
Though billions of dollars in aid money poured into Haiti after that quake and hurricane “Matthew” in 2016, many Haitians say they saw scant benefits from the uncoordinated efforts: government bodies remained weak, amid persistent shortages of food and basic goods.
“The earthquake is a great misfortune that happens to us in the middle of the hurricane season,” Henry told reporters, adding that the government would not repeat “the same things” done in 2010. — Reuters
