Haiti hit by earthquake ; at least 12 reported dead

A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck off the northwest coast of Haiti late Saturday, killing at least 12 people, injuring more than 130 others and damaging homes in the poverty-stricken Caribbean nation, authorities said.

The epicenter of the quake was located about 19 kilometers (12 miles) northwest of the city of Port-de-Paix, the US Geological Survey reported.

President Jovenel Moise said he and Prime Minister Jean-Henry Ceant had reached “the zone affected by the earthquake to bring assistance to the population” and coordinate relief efforts. He had said earlier he was headed to Port-de-Paix and another quake-hit city, Gros-Morne, about 50 kilometers to the southeast.

“I congratulate the citizens for their show of solidarity and support,” Moise said in a Twitter message, vowing to ensure that the government was doing everything possible to help victims.
The quake, which was felt across the country, struck at 8:10 pm (0010 GMT Sunday) at a shallow depth of 11.7 kilometers.
Government spokesmen said that 12 people had been reported dead so far, eight of them in Port-de-Paix, the capital of Haiti's Nord-Ouest department, and four others in Gros-Morne.

Haiti's civil protection agency put the preliminary number of injured at 188.

- AFP