Haiti: earthquake situation. Report nº 2 - 26 August 2021

ABSTRACT

Nearly two weeks after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake rocked south-western Haiti, humanitarian assistance has begun reaching some of the hardest-to-reach areas, where the most vulnerable are still unable to meet their urgent need for food, basic sanitation and hygiene and life-saving health services. In some remote rural areas, response personnel and relief supplies have yet to reach those most in need. The compounded impacts of the earthquake and Tropical Depression Grace have greatly exacerbated pre-existing needs. The UN System in Haiti estimates 650,000 people are in need of emergency humanitarian assistance, a concerning figure considering that 634,000 people across the three most affected departments ­ Grand'Anse, Nippes and Sud ­ already needed multi-sectoral humanitarian assistance before the quake. As of the latest updates issued on 25 August, the Haitian Civil Protection General Directorate (DGPC) reported 2,207 deaths,12,268 injured and 320 missing. By 22 August, search-and-rescue crews had extracted 24 missing people from the rubble, including 4 children, who were airlifted to Camp-Perrin to receive emergency medical assistance. In the Sud Department, aftershocks continue almost two weeks after the initial quake on 14 August, creating widespread panic among the affected population. Some people whose homes are still standing in affected areas are choosing to sleep in the streets in fear that the structures may collapse at any moment.