Haiti earthquake death toll rises as tropical depression hits

The death toll in Haiti rose above 1,400 on Monday, with over 6,900 people injured, as a result of a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that hit the nation on Saturday.

According to the BBC, Tropical Storm Grace’s heavy rains hampered rescue workers’ attempts to sift through the debris and rubble to find survivors. Grace was upgraded from a tropical depression to a tropical storm and was located just west of the Haitian city of Les Cayes before it continued to move west toward Jamaica, the National Hurricane Center reported early Tuesday.

An unknown number of Haitians are reportedly still missing and tens of thousands were left homeless as a result of the quake.

Haiti’s civil protection agency took to Twitter to encourage “good neighbours whose space has not been affected” to help shelter those who have been displaced, the BBC noted.

Earlier this week, the country’s civil protection agency said that nearly 27,000 homes were destroyed or damaged in the earthquake and hospitals were unable to provide medical supplies due to blocked roads.

Saturday’s earthquake has been compared to one in 2010 that left over 220,000 Haitians dead.