At least 227 people are known to be dead after a major 7.2-magnitude earthquake shook southwestern Haiti early Saturday morning, the nation’s civil protection service told reporters.
The earthquake struck about 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) northeast of Saint Louis du Sud, about 80 miles west of Port-au-Prince. It was about six miles (10 kilometers) deep, according to the US Geological Survey.
Buildings, homes, and historic cathedrals all collapsed in an island nation that has barely recovered from a similar natural disaster in 2010, and where the assassination of the nation’s President Jovenel Moise last month all but completed the destruction of any stability restored since.
Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry declared a state of emergency, set to remain in place for the next 30 days.
The last such devastating earthquake, in January 2010, took the lives of more than 300,000 people in Haiti.
Aftershocks of the current earthquake have been as strong as 5.2-magnitude.
Just on the heels of this horrific disaster, Tropical Storm Grace is expected to lash the country with high winds and heavy rain between Monday and Tuesday of this week.