MTO News confirmed that this morning a category 7 earthquake hit Haiti and thousands are believed to be dead. Early reports say that this can be the deadliest earthquake in human history.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) has estimated “thousands of fatalities” and “tens of thousands of injuries in poor mountainous communities.”
“High casualties are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,” the USGS said around an hour after the quake.
Images posted to social media also showed significant damage to buildings including collapsed homes and rubble splayed across the road.
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Economic losses could range in the tens of millions, according to the US Geological Survey.
The country is still recovering from a magnitude 7 earthquake closer to the capital 11 years ago that killed at least 250,000 people, injured 300,000, and displaced more than 1.5 million.
“Everyone is really afraid. It’s been years since such a big earthquake,” Daniel Ross, a resident in the eastern Cuban city of Guantanamo, told Reuters, adding that his home stood firm but the furniture shook.