United States announced on Tuesday the dispatch of eight helicopters, as well as two additional ships, to Haiti to reinforce rescue and assistance efforts after the weekend’s earthquake that left more than 1,400 dead and thousands injured.

The US government has promised to maintain aid for Haiti, coordinated by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through a Disaster Response Assistance Team (DART), with several units with 65 search and rescue experts and hundreds kilos of medical equipment already on the ground.

“We have requested the unique capabilities of the Department of Defense to support the response to the earthquake that struck southwestern Haiti.”said Sarah Charles, from USAID’s humanitarian assistance office in a telephone press conference.

The helicopters will join the Coast Guard vessels already deployed in the area.

Earthquake, Storms and Floods: the Endless Ordeal of Haitians

The director of USAID, Samantha Power, indicated today that in the last hours the American team has transferred 40 wounded in critical condition to hospitals in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.

This Monday, Civil Protection, the organization responsible for organizing the response to the earthquake in Haiti, reported that the death toll rose to 1,419 people, while another 6,900 were injured, mostly in the southwest of the country.

It has also destroyed about 37,300 homes and caused structural damage to another 46,000, as well as 25 medical centers, according to authorities.

On the other hand, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that flash floods and landslides are possible in the Dominican Republic and Haiti due to tropical depression Grace.

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