Democracy Dies in Darkness

Aid workers scramble to save Haiti earthquake victims as Grace regains tropical storm status

By
, 
August 17, 2021 at 3:43 a.m. EDT
A boy is treated outside a hospital in Les Cayes, Haiti, after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Sunday. (Getty Images)
correction

An earlier version of this article misspelled the last name of Jean David Geneste as Geleste. It also incorrectly said he was a doctor in Baraderes. He is a former parliamentary deputy. It also misidentified the radio station he spoke to. It is Radio Caraibes, not Radio Caribe. The article has been corrected.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haiti was battered with rains Monday and early Tuesday, as rescue workers and doctors with little equipment worked feverishly to save victims of Saturday’s massive earthquake.

Grace dumped up to 10 inches of rain before being upgraded from depression to tropical storm early Tuesday, creating yet another crisis for exhausted, newly homeless people who needed shelter. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said that Grace was causing flooding across parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.