Tropical depression Grace causes torrential rains in Haiti days after earthquake
Rescue operations following the earthquake that hit southwestern Haiti on Saturday have taken a major hit even as local authorities said the death toll is likely to increase.
Even as Haiti scrambles to get on its feet in the aftermath of a massive earthquake, measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale, that hit the Caribbean nation on Saturday, heavy rains lashed the country on Tuesday night, drenching scores of homeless and foiling rescue operations in the disaster that has so far killed at least 1,419 people.
Tropical depression Grace over southwest Haiti –worst-affected region in the country — caused torrential rains and high winds, resulting in flooding in at least one area.
Torrential rains lashed both the Dominican Republic and Haiti, the Washington Post reported, citing the Monday advisory of the National Hurricane Center. Grace had a speed of 35mph on Monday and was a little shy of emerging into a tropical storm as it moved westward at a speed of 15mph about 50 miles south of Port Au Prince in Haiti, the report added.
Also Read | Quake kills hundreds in Haiti, worsening Caribbean nation's plight
Concerns persist over the tropical depression even wreaking havoc in Mexico, swivelling through the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico and strengthening into a more destructive tropical storm – or worse, hurricane.
In spite of Grace’s present disorganisation, the depression is capable of causing torrential rains between five to 10 inches to southern regions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The Monday forecast by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) experimental HAFS-B model stated that more than 10 inches of rain can be brought by Grace in the earthquake-affected zone of Haiti – capable of causing destructive flooding, the Yale Climate Connections reported.
The tropical storm alert comes amid reports of nearly 37,312 houses getting destroyed by the earthquake, according to Haitian authorities. They added that the death toll is likely to rise as many people were yet to be rescued from the rubble.
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“When the storm comes, we'll take shelter in car ports of the houses nearby, just until it passes, and then we'll return to our place in the road," Vital Jaenkendy said as bulldozers shifted rubble from his apartment building that flattened to the ground, and killed eight residents while four others remain missing.
On Monday, a hospital in southwestern Haiti was so overwhelmed with patients that several had to lie in corridors, hallways, and patios. Officials later relocated them to the best of their capabilities and resources, considering the hospital’s below-average conditions.
“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.
Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who was sworn in less than a month ago following President Jovenel Moise was assassinated on July 7, said that the government would not repeat the “same things” done in 2010.
Notably, over 200,000 Haitians lost their lives in a brutal earthquake that had hit the country in 2010, with tens of thousands of buildings left damaged.
“The earthquake (latest) is a great misfortune that happens to us in the middle of the hurricane season,” Henry told reporters, vowing to disburse humanitarian aid better than what was done after the earthquake 11 years ago.
(With inputs from agencies)
