Haiti’s earthquake aftermath is visible from space

A deadly 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti Saturday (Aug. 14) pancaked buildings so badly that the damage was visible from orbit.

Maxar Technologies satellite imagery showed the earthquake devastation in two of the hardest-hit cities in Haiti: Les Cayes in southwest Haiti and Jérémie in northwest Haiti.

“Multiple buildings can be seen in ruins, particularly in Les Cayes, while recovery crews work near the rubble of the collapsed structures,” Maxar officials wrote in a description of the imagery.

Related: GPS satellites can provide faster alerts when big earthquakes strike, scientists say

The death toll in western Haiti alone is estimated at at least 1,300 people, according to The New York Times. The country was already facing a severe shortage of doctors even before the quake, the Times added; the region of Les Cayes had only a few dozen doctors to serve more than a million people, for example.

As of Monday (Aug. 16), Haiti is also being battered by Tropical Storm Grace. The storm and earthquake are the latest calamities for the country, whose president Jovenel Moïse was assassinated July 7 amid massive political and civil instability. Even before the earthquake struck, local media said planned elections were postponed until Nov. 7, according to Reuters.

Haiti, which the Associated Press (AP) describes as “the hemisphere’s poorest nation,” is also still dealing with the coronavirus and weakened infrastructure, the latter caused by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck the region in 2010.

“Saturday’s earthquake … left at least 5,700 people injured in the Caribbean nation, with thousands more displaced from their destroyed or damaged homes,” AP wrote. “Survivors in some areas were forced to wait out in the open amid oppressive heat for help from overloaded hospitals.”

Organizations ranging from UNICEF to the New York Police Department are accepting donations to assist Haiti. CNNWire has a list of donating opportunities available.

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