'Everywhere is agony' near epicentre of Haitian earthquake, says aid worker
More than 1,400 people killed already as country braces for an incoming storm
Aid workers in Haiti are desperately trying to figure out how to get supplies and medical help to people in rural areas hit by a devastating earthquake.
The quake struck the Caribbean country on Saturday, about 125 kilometres west of the capital of Port-au-Prince, killing at least 1,419 people, nearly razing some towns and triggering landslides that hampered rescue efforts.
And things could get worse before they get better. A major storm, tropical depression Grace, is predicted to reach Haiti on Monday night with strong winds, heavy rain, mudslides and flash flooding.
Cara Buck is the acting country director in Haiti for Mercy Corps, a humanitarian organization. Here is part of her conversation with As It Happens guest host Helen Mann.
What was it like for you when the earthquake hit?
[On] Saturday morning, [I] kind of jolted out of bed and it just felt like the building was on water. You could feel the waves.
I'm in Port-au-Prince, about 100 miles [161 kilometres] away from the epicentre, so you can really imagine what the team there might have been experiencing at that time.
How powerful was it compared to previous earthquakes there?
There's a difference between this earthquake and the previous one in 2010. This earthquake was not as deep as the other one … but the epicentre is [in] more of a rural area. So the destruction has been different, making it even more challenging in some ways.
What kind of damage do you see around Port-Au-Prince?
We don't have reports of damage in the city.
The epicentre of this earthquake was in the southwestern peninsula of Haiti … where we have a team of 19, where we see an extraordinary amount of homes that have been destroyed.
We're getting reports of injured family members, destroyed homes, destroyed markets, [and] bridges. Roads have been damaged [and are] impassable. So there's a lot of damage, and a lot of people that are needing support urgently.
I understand it's not just the damage from the original quake itself, or even the aftershocks, but there have been landslides as well.
Absolutely, landslides.
A lot of the structures are built from mud blocks. So [this is] making them even more susceptible to something like an earthquake.
The pending tropical depression Grace certainly will not make this easier. Any amount of rain could certainly make this response more challenging.
What are the biggest challenges that people are facing around the epicentre right now?
People are on the streets — a lot in agony, a lot injured.
We're assessing what the needs are. So is it clean water, or is it food that's most needed? Is it shelter?
With the looming storm, we could anticipate that shelter would be among, certainly, one of the top priorities, and in addition to the search and rescue efforts.
So how is aid getting into these areas? What are the plans to get more there?
Logistically, it's extremely difficult to get to the epicentre — one land route out of Port-au-Prince, that's highly insecure. We have passage at the moment. We have humanitarian safe passage. We don't know how long that will hold.
There's also one airport going in and out. We have some NGOs also looking at potential ways in which to reach the site by boat.
We've been partnering with the government of Canada for years in Haiti. We're incredibly grateful for their support of our work and the people of Haiti. We're just really trying to understand the most critical needs and ensure that when money does come in, when those funds are available, we're ensuring a co-ordinated effort and we are understanding the needs to address these as efficiently and as effectively as possible.
Earlier today, I saw about 5,700 people estimated as injured. Is there an effort to get any of them out of the area for better medical care?
We do have information coming in that, certainly, as this area is quite rural, the hospitals and clinics in the surrounding areas are over [capacity]. There are many people, [and] not enough services.
We're still assessing the acute needs, but we can definitely anticipate, if need be, trying to transport them out of the area and bringing them to [Port-au-Prince], or alternatively, increasing the number of medical professionals in and around the epicentre of the quake.
I've seen suggestions that Haiti is better equipped for emergencies than it was, say, back in 2010 with that massive quake then. What is your sense of the government's level of preparedness for dealing with disasters like this?
In the past three months alone, we've seen a presidential assassination. We've seen increasing COVID cases with the delta variant. We've had storm warnings. Obviously, the most recent emergency with the earthquake.
This is all in addition to underlying food insecurity and poverty.
When you speak with Haitians in the midst of this crisis, what are they saying to you? What is your sense of how they're coping?
We have a number of team members at Mercy Corps with families in the area and news coming in … [about] people that have died in destructed buildings, destroyed homes.
It's bringing back a lot of trauma for these individuals that have had to live through and experience some of these very traumatic situations in the past and, of course, those hit hard by the quake. I mean, just devastation coming from the team. You know, one team member saying everywhere is agony. It's just horrific.
You mentioned earlier that your NGO gets support from the Canadian government. What does Haiti need from countries like Canada right now?
What allows us to do what we do the most effectively and efficiently and quickly, are cash donations … [to] established organizations that are on the ground and have been working, like Mercy Corps, here for 10 years, working with local authorities and communities that have that trust with Haitians and building those relationships with local authorities and leaders.
The most we can do [is] to ensure that this is a co-ordinated effort, that this effort is led by Haitians, and we are able to provide and ensure that the most knowledgeable, capable individuals, including Haitians, are part of this response.
Written by Sheena Goodyear with files from The Associated Press. Interview produced by Niza Lyapa Nondo. Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.
