A Haitian woman in Brazil reported in desperation that she was unable to call her brother after the earthquake: “She lost her cell phone while running”

According to Francilene, her brother works in Jeremy, southern Haiti, Monday through Saturday. When the family learned of the earthquake that killed more than 200 people, they tried to contact them by phone for hours, but to no avail.

“He told us he left so we could sort out a problem before we left town, and when it was time to go home, the earthquake happened and everything fell. We were desperate,” he says.

Franceline Lorgent told G1 the family became desperate when they lost contact with their brother who lives in Haiti – Photo: Playback/TV HAVE

At that time, in the late afternoon, the brother called and told him that he had lost his cell phone while fleeing to save himself from the earthquake. Now, the Haitian woman says she is relieved to know that her brother is fine.

He adds, “He was on the third floor of the house while he was working and he lost everything. Thank God he only hit his foot. He lost his cell phone while jogging and things in the house, but he’s fine.”

Video: Watch footage of the devastation in Haiti

Part of a building in Jeremy, Haiti, collapsed due to the earthquake – Photo: JComHaiti / courtesy via Reuters

The Prime Minister of Haiti, Ariel Henry, declared a state of emergency for 30 days. Henry lamented the deaths and said in a statement that he had already mobilized government resources to support the victims.

“My thoughts are with the relatives of the victims of this earthquake, which has caused great losses in human and material lives in various departments [equivalente a estados] of the country,” Henry wrote.

“I appeal to the spirit of solidarity and commitment of all Haitians to unite in the face of this tragic situation in which we live,” the president continued. “the Union is strength.”

Magnitude 7.2 earthquake strikes Haiti – Photo: Fernanda Gravel/Arte G1

The US Geological Survey (USGS) reports that a strong earthquake can also be felt in the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Jamaica.

According to the US agency, there are no longer tsunami risks in the region. Earlier, the authorities issued a tsunami warning, but it was withdrawn.

US President Joe Biden authorized immediate assistance to Haiti and appointed Samantha Power, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), for the role.

The church in Les Caye was destroyed after the earthquake that hit Haiti on Saturday (14) – Photo: Delot Jean/AP

The epicenter of the earthquake was located 8 kilometers from the town of Petite-Trues-de-Nips (in the west of the island), about 150 kilometers from the capital, Port-au-Prince, and at a depth of 10 kilometers.

A slightly larger earthquake than the 2010 earthquake, measuring 7.0 – a difference of 0.2 on the Richter scale – left about 300,000 dead and 1.5 million homeless. The current quake is not expected to have the same effect as the 2010 earthquake, whose epicenter was much closer to Port-au-Prince, the most populous part of Haiti, at a distance of only 25 kilometers.

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* Under the supervision of Paula Patriarca