Page 30 - bon-dia-aruba-20210818

A30 world news
Diaranson 18 augustus 2021

Tropical storm feeds growing anger in quake-stricken Haiti

the body of a 3-year-old girl at the collapsed apartment to help with damage assess-
that firefighters had found an building. ment and search-and-rescue
hour earlier. efforts. Chief among their
The lack of adequate aid duties was inspecting govern-
Illustrating the lack of gov- was made more apparent by ment water towers and the
ernment presence, volunteer the fact that the only help damaged offices of charities
firefighters from the nearby that arrived was from poorly in the region, said Kit Miya-
city of Cap-Hatien had left equipped volunteers. moto, the company's CEO
the body out in the rain be- and president.
cause police have to be pres- The rain and wind raised the
ent before it could be taken threat of mudslides and flash Miyamoto said he has seen
away. flooding as Grace slowly places struck by earthquakes
passed over southwestern build back stronger. He said
A throng of angry, shouting Haiti's Tiburon Peninsula the destruction in Port-au-
men gathered in front of the before heading toward Jamai- Prince from the devastating
collapsed building, a sign that ca and southeastern Cuba. 2010 earthquake led masons
LES CAYES, Haiti (AP) Agency raised the death toll patience was running out for Forecasters said it could be- and others to improve build-
— Heavy rain from Tropi- from the earthquake to 1,419 people who have waited days come a hurricane before hit- ing practices. People there felt
cal Storm Grace forced a and the number of injured to for help from the govern- ting Mexico's Yucatan Penin- the Saturday morning quake,
temporary halt Tuesday to 6,000, many of whom have ment. sula. centered about 75 miles (121
the Haitian government's had to wait for medical help kilometers) to the west, and
response to the deadly lying outside in wilting heat. Earthquake assessments had Officials said the magnitude rushed into the streets, but
weekend earthquake, to be paused because of the 7.2 earthquake destroyed there were no reports of
feeding the growing an- As rains soaked the earth- heavy rain, "and people are more than 7,000 homes and damage in the capital.
ger and frustration among quake-damaged city of Les getting aggressive," Chandler damaged nearly 5,000, leav-
thousands who were left Cayes on Tuesday, patience said Tuesday. ing about 30,000 families But Etzer Emile, a Haitian
homeless. was running out in the West- homeless. Hospitals, schools, economist and professor at
ern Hemisphere's poorest Some children orphaned offices and churches also Quisqueya University, a pri-
Grace battered southwestern nation. Haitians already were when their parents died in were demolished or badly vate institution in Port-au-
Haiti, which was hit hard- struggling with the coronavi- the quake were starting to damaged. Prince, said the earthquake's
est by Saturday's quake, and rus, gang violence, worsening go hungry, said Carl-Henry impact will almost certainly
officials warned some areas poverty and the July 7 assas- Petit-Frère, a field manager In Jeremie, Police Commis- result in more long-term
could get 15 inches (38 cen- sination of President Jovenel for Save the Children, which sioner Paul Menard denied a poverty for Haiti's struggling
timeters) of rain before the Moïse when the quake hit. said in a statement that it was social media report of looting southwestern region.
storm moved on. Heavy rain distributing what it could to after the quake.
also drenched the capital of Bodies continued to be people living on the streets Political instability and gang
Port-au-Prince. pulled from the rubble, and without protection from the Structural engineers from criminality along the south-
the smell of death hung heav- wind and rain. Miyamoto International, a ern roads into the region
The storm hit Haiti late ily over a pancaked, three- global earthquake and struc- have particularly hobbled
Monday, the same day that story apartment building. About 20 soldiers finally tural engineering firm, vis- economic activity in recent
the country's Civil Protection A simple bed sheet covered showed up to help rescuers ited hard-hit areas Monday years.

Firefighters in Greece beat back large blaze outside Athens

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Hun- tries. France was battling a forest fire of which were quickly extinguished. leaves alight in a square in Athens.
dreds of firefighters in Greece along the French Riviera on Tuesday,
backed by more than 30 water- and recent wildfires have killed at The first was a 54-year-old Greek Climate scientists, meanwhile, say
dropping planes gained ground least 75 people in Algeria and 16 in man who allegedly set fire to papers there's little doubt that climate change
Tuesday against a large forest fire Turkey. Worsening drought and heat and dry vegetation Sunday near a from the burning of coal, oil and
burning for the second day that have also fueled wildfires in the west- village west of Athens. The second natural gas is driving more extreme
led to the evacuation of a nursing ern United States and in Russia's case involved a 29-year-old foreign events, such as heat waves, droughts,
home and several villages north- northern Siberia region. woman whose nationality was not re- wildfires, floods and storms.
west of Athens. leased. She is accused of setting dry
Greece's fire department said 370
The blaze in dense forest in the Vilia firefighters with 115 vehicles were
area began Monday, shortly after an- fighting the Vilia blaze Tuesday, with
other wildfire broke out southeast of air support provided by 20 water-
the Greek capital in the Keratea area. dropping planes and 12 helicopters.
The two were the most severe among That and the Keratea fire have de-
dozens of wildfires to erupt that day, voured an estimated 5,000 hectares
the fire department said. (12,400 acres) of forest and farmland,
mostly in the Vilia area.
Greece's minister for public order,
Michalis Chrysochoidis, said late Firefighters were also still trying se-
Tuesday the situation at Vilia was im- cure the boundaries of major blazes
proving despite a number of flareups in a national park north of Athens and
and that the Keratea blaze had been on the Greek island of Evia. Others,
contained. including 40 Austrian firefighters,
were fighting two major fires in the
Hundreds of wildfires have burned southern Greek region of the Pelo-
across Greece this month, fueled by ponnese.
the country's most severe heat wave
in decades. Arson has been suspected as the cause
of some fires. On Tuesday, police an-
Intense heat and wildfires have also nounced they had arrested two people
struck other Mediterranean coun- on suspicion of setting two fires, both