Hospital overflowing, chaos, damage and dead bodies in Gros-Morne Haiti

#Haiti, Saturday October 6, 2018 – There is death, though the count is still unknown.  There is tremendous damage, and by morning the severity will become more clear for the Haitian community of Gros-Mourne, which is home to about 200,000 people.

One woman, in a voice note received by Magnetic Media loudly laments over the damages in her community in the north of Haiti; where on this rainy Saturday, Haitians were thrust into chaos when a 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit Ti Port-de-Paix at 8:11 pm.

“She is basically saying that there are a lot of houses collapsed and a lot of people are injured.  She says that she is safe but, according to her, a lot of people lost their lives.”

Praying outside Catholic Church in Gros-Morne, hit by 5.9 magnitude earthquake tonight

Her morbid account in Creole really needs no translation; her tone of voice and her wailing paints a very clear and very real picture that once again Haiti is sent into shock and sorrow as the loss of lives, damage to property and strain on the health system in that part of the country are overwhelming.

Photographs show large buildings with walls and ceilings collapsed.  They also show death.  In one, who appears to be a woman, is partially crushed and pinned down by a large cement column.  In another picture, a man lays in a pool of his own blood in the street.  The photos have been confirmed as authentic, the disaster actual and the crisis still fluid with new information by the second.

Haitians of Gros-Morne, which means Big Mountain, are devastated.

In yet another image, shown is the local Catholic Church damaged but with people still congregated outside, holding hands and praying.

Haitian-born radio station owner, now Turks and Caicos broadcaster, Donald Metilus (VHTC 91.5FM) said he has been live on air since the news of the quake broke.

“The hospital cannot take anymore, there are many dead bodies.”

Reactions to the reports consist largely of two things: promises to pray for Haiti and questions about how much more this impoverished, hurricane and earthquake weary nation can take.

COVER PHOTO FROM PORT DE PAIX