NEW YORK - Two earthquakes shook southwest Haiti on Monday, killing two people and damaging homes as it created panic and prompted schools and businesses to close.
A magnitude 5.3 quake at 8:16 a.m. was followed by a magnitude 5.1 quake nearly an hour later. Both were centered on Haiti's southern peninsula, west of the capital, Port-au-Prince, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It said both were centered about 6 miles below the surface.
The USGS says the quakes were prominent aftershocks of the August 14, 2021 magnitude 7.2. earthquake that killed more than 2,200 people.
Haiti's civil protection agency said at least two people died and two others were injured, with at least 35 homes reportedly damaged.
Haiti earthquake today
Yves Bossé, an elected official for the southern department of Nippes, told The Associated Press that one person died when the earthquake caused a landslide at a sand mine. He also said several homes were cracked and that businesses shut down for the day.
"People are scared to go back into their homes," he said.
Sylvera Guillame, director of Haiti’s civil protection agency for the country’s southern region, told AP that schools in the area also closed and sent children home as a precaution.
The January 24 earthquakes are approximately 60 kilometers west of the epicenter of a January 2010 7.0 magnitude Port-au-Prince earthquake which caused over 200,000 fatalities.
With the Associated Press