DThe US Geological Survey believes that after a severe earthquake off the coast of Haiti, there may be a large number of victims. She called the red alert on Saturday to prevent possible fatalities. The agency also mentioned the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti in 2010. The current earthquake shook the same peninsula in Haiti. The 2010 earthquake caused severe damage to Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. At that time, more than 200,000 people died in this disaster.
The current magnitude 7.2 earthquake occurred on Saturday near the city of Saint-Louis-du-Sud. The US authorities also mentioned the strong earthquake that occurred on Saturday near the southern coast of Alaska. It shook the area with a magnitude of 6.9. The agency wrote: “Although the two earthquakes have a corresponding relationship in time, the distance between the two events is very long, so it is unlikely that there will be a causal relationship.”
Haiti lifted its tsunami warning. The National Weather Service (NOAA) on Saturday advised people to be cautious. It said that in coastal areas near the earthquake, there may still be small fluctuations of up to 30 centimeters in sea level.
According to official information, the earthquake occurred about 12 kilometers away from the city of Saint-Louis-du-Sud, with a focal depth of about 10 kilometers. According to reports, many houses were destroyed by the earthquake. The exact extent of the damage was initially unclear.
The damage caused by the 2010 earthquake is estimated at 8 billion U.S. dollars (6.2 billion euros). The slow start of reconstruction was also due to political instability. The President of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated in July. He was ambushed and shot dead by heavily armed commandos at his residence.
