After the interminable political crisis which culminated in the “peyi lòk” and the insolence of the armed gangs, it is now the turn of natural disasters to continue to increase the sentences of the populations of the great South of Haiti.
The southern metropolis was preparing to celebrate its patron saint, Notre-Dame de l’Assomption, when a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the entire department the morning of Saturday August 14.
In the morning of Monday, August 16 alone, the authorities in charge of Civil Protection had already recorded around 1,420 dead, 6,000 wounded and 30,000 houses destroyed or damaged in three of the four geographical departments (South-East, Nippes, Grand’Anse, Sud) concerned by this cataclysm.
From the town of Miragoâne (Nippes), passing through the town of Jérémie (Grand’Anse) to the towns of Cavaillon, Les Cayes, Camp-Perrin, des Anglais (South), the final assessment of this earthquake risks be one of the heaviest that the country has recorded after that of 2010.
All industries are affected in one way or another.
Buildings, monuments and historical sites of great value which attracted foreigners were not spared, among which the cathedral of Jérémie, the religious frescoes of the cathedral of Les Cayes, the Saut-Mathurine, the Church of the Sacred Heart of Cayes, etc. Some main roads are cut either by the force of the tremors or by landslides which completely cut off the roads to vehicles.
On the commercial front, many companies have been banged up or devastated by the tremors, which will lead to the temporary or permanent layoff of several hundred employees. Commercial banks will observe two or three days of shutdown in order to be able to finalize some infrastructural glitches, we learned from the APB.
Aftershocks of the earthquake are still expected as the first rains announcing the arrival of Cyclone Grace are already occurring in some areas affected by the tremors of the earthquake. Bad weather is not the best guest for the victims who have lost their homes or for the injured who do not yet have access to a hospital, in a country that lacks everything.
In the meantime, the humanitarian aid waltz has already started.
Friendly countries have already announced their support for Haiti, including Cuba which already has doctors at work in the affected areas,
Venezuela sent Boats with all the technical structures should arrive in the country in the coming days, stressing that the day after the disaster, a first boat carrying aid had already arrived in Haiti.
Taiwan with the Economic and Social Assistance Fund (FAES) dispatched several convoys containing thousands of food kits for distribution to victims of the Great South.
Japan On Monday August 16, in response to the request of the Government of Haiti, the Government of Japan decided to provide emergency aid (sheets, floor matekas, woolen blankets, plastic sheeting, jerry cans etc…) to Haiti by through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to support the victims of the August 14 earthquake.
Mexico The Mexican Air Force (FAM) sent two heavy and medium transport planes to Haiti
A C-295W CASA, with a capacity of 8 tons, took around 60 members of the Mexican army specializing in medical and rescue care and their equipment, to support Haitians affected by the earthquake
A Hercules L-100-30 which carries a cargo of nearly 20 tons of humanitarian aid consisting of medicine, clinical supplies, food and rescue equipment, in addition to transporting support equipment.
And Chile Chileans knowing what a devastating earthquake means and what it means, in terms of suffering and pain for people who have to live these ordeals,support and help Haitians in these moments of pain and anguish and confirmed “the dispatch on Monday evening of a Boeing KC-135 with more than 16 tons of humanitarian aid : medicines, sanitary items, food, water and other facts and things necessary in Haiti.”
In addition, Sebastián Piñera revealed that he had met with the presidents of Panama and Costa Rica “in order to coordinate the humanitarian aid that they will also send to Haiti and for which Chile will provide air transport.”
Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and of course, the United states of America) have offered their assistance to the country with the dispatch of personnel, emergency food rations and medical equipment.
“The Ministry of Trade and Industry and Industry is warning all traders who would take advantage of the dire situation the country is currently experiencing to increase the price of certain products. The ministry would like to remind them that this practice is prohibited by the law of December 20, 1946 on illegal speculation (black market) ”, we read in a note.
