PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A powerful earthquake has rocked the Caribbean island of Haiti this morning.
The USGS said the earthquake was a magnitude 7 and five miles from the town of Petit Trou de Nippes, at a depth of 10km.
The earthquake epicenter was approximately 100 miles by road from central Port-au-Prince. According to The New York Times, the earthquake was so powerful that it could be felt 200 miles away on the island of Jamaica.
The earthquake is a huge blow to the country, which is still struggling to heal from the magnitude 7 earthquake in 2010.
The earthquake affected as many as 3 million people, half of whom were forced to live in makeshift tents after losing their homes. Around 250,000 people died and 300,000 people were injured.
Last month, Dr. Ariel Henry was sworn in as Haiti’s new prime minister two weeks after the assassination of the country’s President, Jovenel Moïse.
Claude Joseph served as Interim Prime Minister after Moïse’s death, backed by the police and military, but Haiti is still battling for order to be restored.
“I’m a courageous man, I took charge, and I spoke to the population and said, ‘Keep calm. We need to behave intelligently,'” Joseph told The New York Times of the role he played after the president’s death. “Otherwise, no one knows what would have happened.”
Additionally, he told The Post that he had no interest in a “grab” for power.
“Everyone who knows me knows that I am not interested in this battle, or in any kind of power grab,” Joseph says. “The president was a friend to me. I am just interested in seeing justice for him.”
All eyes will be on him to see if he can pull this country though this natural disaster.
