An earthquake in western Haiti has killed at least four people and injured 36 others, civil protection said Tuesday, as the western hemisphere’s poorest state has already been hit by deadly floods and landslides.

An AFP photojournalist found that many houses in the city of Jeremy were cracked and some appeared to have been built in violation of town planning regulations.

“I don’t know what to do,” said 19-year-old Katiana Pierre, who lost her husband and younger sister in the disaster.

Three of the victims “were members of the same family” who were killed “due to the collapse of their home,” said Christine Monkele, Grandance County Civil Protection Officer.

The 4.9 magnitude quake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), occurred shortly after 05:00. [τοπική ώρα· 12:00 ώρα Ελλάδας] on Tuesday about 9 kilometers off the coast of the southwestern peninsula of the Caribbean country, which has been repeatedly hit by devastating earthquakes.

“We provided first aid to the injured. Some of the wounded were taken to the capital by helicopters. We have at least one critically ill patient in the intensive care unit,” said Soitmil Loreis, an intensive care specialist at Saint-Antoine State Hospital, adding that he expects more injured people to arrive from remote locations.

Yesterday, search operations were carried out to search for and rescue people trapped under the rubble. “Efforts to find survivors are ongoing,” the Haitian Red Cross said.

Most of the victims lived in St. Helen, Jeremy’s poor neighborhood.

“Early in the morning I was awakened by a deafening roar. My wife (…) begged me to go and look for the children in their room. With the help of my neighbors, I managed to save our two children, but unfortunately my wife died. Our house was completely destroyed. I lost everything,” said a 40-year-old man in a hospital bed, whose testimony is contained in a video uploaded to the Haitian news site JCOM Haïti.

“We are saddened by the loss of life, natural disasters, the suffering of the people of Haiti as a result of the earthquake,” said Stephane Dujarric, Representative of UN Secretary-General António Guterres in New York.

The southwestern peninsula of Haiti was already hit hard in August 2021 by a massive 7.2 magnitude earthquake that killed more than 2,200 people and destroyed at least 130,000 homes and other buildings.

In 2010, a magnitude 7 earthquake in the country killed over 200,000 people. This push left much of the capital Port-au-Prince in ruins and left 1.5 million residents homeless.

Torrential rains hit Haiti over the weekend, causing floods and landslides that left 51 people dead, 18 missing and 140 injured, according to the latest figures released by authorities and cited by the UN.

Mr Dujarric said the World Food Program is preparing to distribute 350,000 meals and other aid, especially food, “to those who need it most.”

But “insecurity and road damage are hampering relief efforts,” he added, as banditry continues to rage in the Caribbean nation.

Source: APE-MPE, Reuters.