Hospitals in Haiti say they can't handle the thousands of patients injured in earthquake


The death toll from Saturday's 7.2-magnitude earthquake that rocked Haiti hit 1,941 on Tuesday, with more missing and likely buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings.
The quake also left 9,915 people injured. Les Cayes, 90 miles west of the capital Port-au-Prince, was hit hard by the earthquake and a tropical storm that dropped heavy rain on the country overnight. Its hospital, which has set up makeshift tents outside, is unable to "handle all the patients," director Peterson Gede told Reuters. "And we have been receiving supplies, but it's not enough."
Lanette Nuel said her daughter, a 26-year-old mother of two, was crushed by debris that fell during the earthquake. She was brought to the hospital on Monday afternoon, but "there weren't enough doctors and now she's dead," Nuel said, as she sat next to her daughter's body under a white sheet.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
At least 37,312 houses were destroyed by the quake, and the United Nations Children's Fund estimates that there are now half a million Haitian kids with limited or no access to shelter, health care, clean water, or nutritious food. Most are living in tent cities that do not have bathrooms or enough food and medical supplies. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and the United Nations said it has allocated $8 million to go toward getting emergency shelters and clean water to Haiti.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Morales seeks re-election defying constitution and criminal charges
Under the Radar Supporters of former president Evo Morales clash with authorities as political and economic turmoil deepens
-
June 22 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include a SpaceX flight, Bibi pulling Donald Trump toward war, and an ICE agent looking like a bank robber
-
5 bunker-busting cartoons about the Israel-Iran war
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on Iran waiting for Pete Hegseth to leak war plans and Donald Trump's wish for a Nobel prize
-
Israel strikes Iran, killing military and nuclear chiefs
Speed Read Israeli officials said the attack was a 'preemptive' strike on Iran's nuclear program
-
Israel deports Thunberg after seizing Gaza aid boat
speed read The Swedish activist was delivering food and medical aid to Palestine, highlighting the growing humanitarian crisis there
-
Colombian senator shot on streets of Bogotá
speed read Miguel Uribe Turbay, who has announced his candidacy for next year's presidential election, was shot at a rally
-
Trump says Putin vowed retaliation for Kyiv strike
speed read The Russian president intends to respond to Ukraine's weekend drone strikes on Moscow's warplanes
-
Dutch government falls over immigration policy
speed read The government collapsed after anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders quit the right-wing coalition
-
South Korea elects liberal Lee as president
speed read Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, was elected president following months of political instability in the wake of Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment
-
Nationalist wins tight Polish presidential election
speed read Karol Nawrocki beat Rafal Trzaskowski in Poland's presidential runoff election
-
Ukraine hits Russia's bomber fleet in stealth drone attack
speed read The operation, which destroyed dozens of warplanes, is the 'biggest blow of the war against Moscow's long-range bomber fleet'