Days after the 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit southwest Haiti, killing no less than 1,941 people and injuring greater than 9,000 folks, smaller earthquakes generally known as aftershocks proceed to happen within the space. In complete, 22 aftershocks have taken place since Saturday, starting from magnitudes of 4.0 to five.8, in keeping with the USA Geological Survey (USGS).
Nearly all of the aftershocks occurred the day of the biggest earthquake and have progressively decreased. Right this moment, a sole aftershock occurred at 4:47 p.m. about seven miles northeast of Saint-Louis-du-Sud, one of many cities closest to the epicenter of Saturday’s earthquake.
The USGS continues updating its web site each day concerning the earthquake and predictions for future impression.
“Bigger aftershocks might trigger further injury, particularly in weakened buildings,” in keeping with the most recent USGS bulletin issued Wednesday. A number of magnitude 5 and bigger aftershocks have occurred already, and it’s doubtless that there will likely be extra earthquakes of this dimension over the subsequent week, month, and past, the geological physique mentioned.
To this point, many of the aftershocks have occurred within the Nippes Division near Baradères, a city positioned 35 miles north of Les Cayes, and Petit-Trou-de-Nippes, the epicenter of the primary earthquake.
Aftershocks, that are triggered when unstable rock across the fault line adjusts after a significant earthquake, can set off further destruction like landslides, which the USGS predicts will proceed to occur.
Satellite imagery from NASA exhibits that the landslides are primarily occurring in sparsely populated areas, however consultants are nonetheless involved, significantly with the heavy rain unleashed yesterday by Tropical Melancholy Grace.
“Particles and rock already mobilized by the earthquake could also be transported by flash flooding as devastating particles flows,” mentioned landslide knowledgeable Robert Emberson in a press release from NASA. “The fabric is usually on the base of hills presently, however rivers shortly crammed by rain might push that downstream and trigger extreme impacts to communities residing farther from the situation of the landslides.”
These landslides might exacerbate an already precarious scenario. Movies on social media confirmed heavy flooding in Jacmel and a severely broken bridge to Jérémie.
Scientists are already predicting more and more hazardous situations the place extra residents might want to evacuate to shelters, particularly if further aftershocks proceed to happen.
The USGS cautions anybody experiencing an aftershock to move to open locations away from partitions and electrical poles, which might doubtlessly fall in consequence.