At least 1,941 people are known to have died in Haiti in Saturday’s powerful earthquake; rescue workers have managed to pull 34 people alive from the rubble; but many are still missing after the 7.2-magnitude quake. However, the search for survivors has been hampered by heavy rains brought this week by Tropical Storm Grace. Nearly 10,000 people have been injured and hospitals were left overwhelmed.
According to BBC, The UN says about 500,000 children now have limited or no access to shelter, safe water and food.
“Countless Haitian families who have lost everything due to the earthquake are now living literally with their feet in the water due to the flooding,”; said Bruno Maes, the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) representative in the country.
Many have been staying in make-shift tents erected on a football field in the city of Les Cayes; one of the areas worst affected by the quake.
The UN’s World Food Programme said it was working closely with the Haitian authorities to provide assistance to survivors.
And the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that following negotiations, armed gangs; who have previously attacked people travelling to Les Cayes from the capital – had promised to let an aid convoy through.
But the heavy rains brought by Tropical Storm Grace have made many of the roads in the more mountainous regions impassable.
The south-west of Haiti appears to have suffered the worst of the damage from the quake, especially around Les Cayes.