August 15, 2021: A magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Haiti has claimed lives of at least 724 people and injured 2,800 people.
The earthquake occurred at the Tiburon Peninsula in the Caribbean nation of Haiti on the island of Hispaniola on August 14, 2021.
Haiti earthquake has been categorized as the deadliest earthquake of 2021 which occurred near Petit-Trou-de-Nippes, approximately 150 kilometres west of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
According to the United States Geological Survey(USGS), the earthquake occurred as a result of oblique-reverse faulting on the Enriquillo–Plantain Garden fault zone. The earthquake was also strongly felt in Jamaica.
According to the Haitian Civil Protection Agency, the Haiti earthquake destroyed at least 860 homes and 700 others have been damaged.
In addition, minor floods and landslides have been reported in affected areas in Haiti. The earthquake struck as Tropical Storm Grace is expected to reach Haiti between 16 and 17 August.
Haitian prime minister Ariel Henry has declared a state of emergency due to the high number of casualties and the severe damage.
USAID has deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to support damage and needs assessments in coordination with the Government and humanitarian partners.
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was of magnitude which claimed lives of more than 100,000 people causing damage of around $8 billion.