On August 14, 2021, an earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale struck southern Haiti, killing 2,248 people and injuring 1,263, according to the Haitian Civil Protection. The number of homes destroyed by the earthquake is estimated at 54,000 and those damaged at 83,000 according to Handicap International.
In addition to this terrible toll, a large number of people are missing and there is considerable material damage to infrastructure. This is not the first time that the island has been hit by a disaster of this type. It had already paid a heavy price during the earthquake that hit the capital, Port au Prince, in 2010. Then, in 2016, Hurricane Matthew hit the southern regions that have just suffered the earthquake. "No sooner do we see the end of the tunnel, another one opens before us" summarizes Ewains Weche, Haitian author.
This new natural disaster comes at a critical moment in Haiti's political history. Jovenel Moïse, the President of the Republic, was murdered in unsettled circumstances last July. His death has plunged the country into a political, social and economic crisis. The State, without a leader, is groping, stumbling and getting bogged down while its services are largely deficient in many departments of the island and the gang war is raging, considerably amplifying the logistical difficulties.
In mid-September, one month after the earthquake, the city of Les Cayes has come back to life among the rubble. But the wounds are omnipresent: tents set up on the roadways in place of destroyed houses, makeshift camps on the side of the tracks, piles of rubble and workers clearing away as best they can. The same scenes can be seen in the streets of Jeremie, Pestel and other towns in the south. Here and there, informal camps emerge, forgotten by international humanitarian aid.
Food security is now at the heart of concerns in Haiti as OCHA estimates that approximately 980,000 people in the Grand-Sud (Nippes and Grand'Anse departments) will experience acute levels of food insecurity by February 2022 and that 320,000 people have an urgent need for nutrition. However, life goes on in the affected departments, restructuring and adapting. People are going back to concerts, writing, trying to forget and to live again.
A man stands in front of the tents of a refugee camp
Pestel region, Haiti - September 2021
A man finishes tearing down the rubble of a building that collapsed during the earthquake.
Les Cayes, Haiti - September 2021
A young man walks in front of the main church that partially collapsed during the earthquake.
Les Cayes, Haiti - September 2021
Parishioners attend mass in a partially destroyed church
Camp Perrin, Haiti - September 2021
Residents of the commune of Camp Perrin will get water from a stockpile set up by an NGO
Camp Perrin, Haiti - September 2021
A woman stands next to the grave of her father, who died from injuries sustained in the earthquake
Camp Perrin, Haiti - September 2021
Jacques Mildor puts his hand on his wife's head
Les Cayes, Haiti - September 2021
Passersby walk past the rubble of a building in the historic center
Jeremie, Haiti - September 2021
Two nurses in training in a health center heavily impacted by the earthquake.
Moron, Haiti - September 2021
A child and his family are taken care of in a health center.
Moron, Haiti - September 2021
Motorcycle cab drivers are gathered in front of a gas station that has just been refueled. Shortages have been a regular occurrence since the earthquake and the gasoline supply has been particularly hard hit.
Jeremie, Haiti - September 2021
A police officer ensures traffic in front of the bridge of Jeremie, the main access road to the city severely damaged by the earthquake
Jeremie, Haiti - September 2021
A man transports consumer goods by wheelbarrow on the bridge now closed to truck traffic.
Jeremie, Haiti - September 2021
Men ride motorcycles and walk across the bridge now closed to truck traffic.
Jeremie, Haiti - September 2021
Three men look at the destroyed facade of an apartment building in the historic center
Jeremie, Haiti - September 2021
A teenager sits in front of the tent that serves as his home following the earthquake.
Pestel region, Haiti - September 2021

Portrait d'une femme ayant perdu sa maison lors du séisme dans un camp de déplacés internes.
The port of Corail, devastated after the earthquake
Corail, Haiti - September 2021