Haiti’s hospitals have been filled by thousands of injured residents after a devastating earthquake hit the country
The quake which has killed at least 1,297 people has authorities racing to bring doctors to the worst-hit areas before another major storm hits as per forecast.
A powerful magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Haiti hit on Saturday and destroyed thousands of homes and buildings.
Haiti, a Caribbean nation, is still clawing its way back from another major quake 11 years ago and is reeling from the assassination of its president last month.
The updated figures released by Haiti’s Office of Civil Protection on Sunday (early Monday AEST) followed a previous count of 304 dead.
The office’s director, Jerry Chandler, said rescuers were continuing to search for possible survivors under the rubble.
The earthquake survival challenge facing Haiti has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Churches, hotels, hospitals and schools were badly damaged, some destroyed completely, while the walls of a prison were rent open by the violent shudders that convulsed Haiti.
Some 13,694 houses have so far been counted among those destroyed, the civil protection agency said, suggesting the toll could rise further.
