Death toll rises as Tropical Depression Grace hits Haiti

Rescue workers are rushing to locate survivors of the deadly earthquake that struck Haiti on Saturday as a tropical storm hit the Caribbean nation.

At least 1,419 people are known to have died in the 7.2-magnitude quake. More than 6,900 were injured, and an unknown number are still missing.

Tropical Depression Grace is expected to dump up to 25cm (10 inches) of rainfall over the worst affected area.

It is feared the deluge could trigger landslides.

Social media footage showed heavy rain pouring over the island’s east, with the quake-hit west next in its path.

Roads already made impassable by the quake could be further damaged by the rains, so aid teams are racing to get essential provisions to the quake-hit region.

On Twitter, Haiti’s civil protection agency urged “good neighbours whose space has not been affected” to help shelter displaced people.

Search and rescue teams have been arriving from the United States and Chile, with more on the way from Mexico. Cuban medical teams are already in Haiti and helping people.

Humanitarian organisations say survivors need drinking water and shelter. More than 30,000 families have reportedly been left homeless.

Homes, churches and schools were among buildings flattened in the quake. Some hospitals were left overwhelmed and in need of supplies as they struggled to treat the injured.

The earthquake compounds problems facing the impoverished nation, which is already reeling from a political crisis following the assassination of its president last month.  The south-west of Haiti appears to have suffered the worst of the damage, especially around the city of Les Cayes.

Footage on social media showed residents desperately trying to pull victims from ruined buildings.

“The streets are filled with screaming,” head of an Anglican church in Les Cayes, Archdeacon Abiade Lozama, said. “People are searching, for loved ones or resources, medical help, water.”

The epicentre of Saturday’s quake was about 12km (7.5 miles) from the town of Saint-Louis du Sud, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

But the tremor could be felt in the densely-populated capital of Port-au-Prince, some 125km away, and in neighbouring countries.

BBC/Nneka Ukachukwu