Justin Bullock, FISM News
Haiti has been hit by two different natural disasters, one after the other, in recent days following the turmoil and fallout over the assassination of the country’s president and resulting power struggle. Haiti suffered a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that killed at least 1,400 people last weekend. Shortly after the quake, Tropical Storm Grace hit Haiti on Monday and into Tuesday, pummeling the tiny country with torrential rains and powerful winds.
Grace’s winds were blowing at a sustained rate of 50 miles per hour and major flooding resulted from the rain across Haiti. Grace is headed toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and is expected to become a hurricane by the time it arrives there. The US federal government and other international nations will continue sending monetary and food aid to Haiti but the US government has not yet indicated that they will be sending additional disaster personnel to assist the suffering country.
The team has headed back out today to continue searching for anyone trapped or needing other assistance. Arrival today of @Southcom helicopters will increase ability to bring more supplies and personnel to affected areas.
— U.S. Embassy Haiti (@USEmbassyHaiti) August 17, 2021