Haiti quake: death toll rises to over 220, quake likely linked to deadly Jan 2010 quake
Destruction in Les Cayes in approx. 50km distance (image: user submitted)

According to official sources, the death toll has risen to at least 225 and more than 1,500 residents are reported injured in Haiti’s southern department. Hospitals in the department are overwhelmed, according to Sylvera Guillaume, head of Civil Protection in the southern department, in an update on Haiti's Haitan Times Newspaper.

Today's quake occurred on the same fault that caused the devastating Jan 2010 quake in Haiti, which occurred 75 km (45 mi) to the east (and closer to the more densely populated capital region, which increased its toll on human lives). The fault is known as Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone (EPGFZ), and accommodates the most of the side-wise component, approx. 7 mm per year, of movement between the obliquely colliding Caribbean and North America plates.

Most likely, both are linked: once the fault moved 11 years ago in the eastern section, it remained under stress in today's epicenter area; in addition, some of the movement during the 2021 quake might have increased stress in the section of the fault of today's quake.


Earthquake data:
Date & time: 14 Aug 2021 8:29 am (GMT -4) local time (14 Aug 2021 12:29 GMT)
Magnitude: 7.1
Depth: 10.0 km
Epicenterlatitude / longitude: 18.34°N / 73.44°W (Arrondissement d'Aquin, Sud, Haiti)
Primary data source: GFZ
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquake/news/138407/Haiti-quake-death-toll-rises-to-over-220-quake-likely-linked-to-deadly-Jan-2010-quake.html