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Tropical Depression Grace is projected to hit Haiti on Monday, bringing the threat of heavy rainfall, mudslides, and strong winds to a country already rocked by a powerful earthquake that killed over 1,200 people and left thousands more homeless over the weekend.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Grace is expected to move over Haiti and the Dominican Republic by Monday evening. The center lowered Grace's threat from a tropical storm to a depression on Sunday but still predicts up to 10 inches of rain to hit the region.
On Monday, the Center warned: "5 to 10 inches with isolated maximum totals of 15 inches are expected across the southern terrain areas through Tuesday. This heavy rainfall may lead to flash and urban flooding, and possible mudslides."
At 8 a.m. Monday, Grace was 125 miles southeast of the Haitian capital of Port Au Prince and moving west at 15 miles per hour. According to the National Hurricane Center, a storm warning has been set for the entire coast of Haiti.
The tropical depression will hit the island nation just two days after it was devastated by a powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake. On Sunday, the death toll from the earthquake climbed to 1,297, and thousands more are believed to be missing under piles of rubble from collapsed buildings, according to the Associated Press.
The earthquake also left at least 5,700 people injured, a number that has so far overwhelmed hospital systems across the nation. Haiti's Office of Civil Protection said Sunday that more than 7,000 homes were destroyed and nearly 5,000 more were damaged. Hospitals, schools, offices and churches were also affected by the powerful quake.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the epicenter of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake took place 7.5 miles northeast of Saint-Louis du Sud and triggered landslides that slowed rescue efforts in two of the hardest-hit communities.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry declared a one-month state of emergency for the whole country on Saturday, and said he was rushing aid to areas where towns and hospitals were almost completely razed by the damage.
"We salute the dignity, the resilience effort of the victims and their ability to start over. From my observations, I deduce that Haitians want to live and progress. Let us unite to offer these people a living environment conducive to development," Henry said Saturday.
The earthquake struck just one month after President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated, and amid the nation's attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus. As the poorest country in the Americas, Haiti has been suffering from political instability, gang violence, and food scarcity for decades.
The Caribbean nation has also faced devastation from previous earthquakes and hurricanes. In 2010, a massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, killing an estimated 300,000 people and rendering over 1 million homeless. That quake marked one of the deadliest natural disasters in the Western Hemisphere, with large parts of the island still recovering more than a decade later.
"Little more than a decade on, Haiti is reeling once again," UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said Sunday, according to AP.
"And this disaster coincides with political instability, rising gang violence, alarmingly high rates of malnutrition among children, and the COVID-19 pandemic—for which Haiti has received just 500,000 vaccine doses, despite requiring far more," fore added.
U.S. President Joe Biden authorized an immediate aid response on Saturday. USAID Administrator Samantha Power, who is overseeing the efforts, announced Sunday that a search and rescue team was being sent from Virginia at the request of Haiti's government.
The U.S. Coast Guard said a helicopter was transporting medical personnel from the Haitian capital to the earthquake zone, along with evacuating the injured to Port-au-Prince.
