Haiti earthquake: Death toll crosses 1,300, over 6,000 injured

Haiti's hospitals were swamped with thousands of injured residents after a devastating earthquake killed at least 1,297 people as authorities raced to bring doctors to the worst-hit areas before a major storm hits.

The death toll from Haiti's powerful earthquake jumped to over 1,300, as crews desperately dug through collapsed buildings for survivors in the Caribbean nation still reeling from its president's assassination. Credit: Reuters Photo

In Les Cayes, as in other hard-hit cities on the southwestern peninsula, most of the population spent the night sleeping outdoors in front of their houses -- or what remained of them -- amid fears of new aftershocks. Credit: Reuters Photo

The streets there were filled with the grinding of heavy equipment lifting debris from collapsed buildings, as well as the quieter sounds of people pulling away rubble by hand while searching for the missing. Credit: Reuters Photo

At least 1,297 people were killed in the 7.2-magnitude quake that struck about 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the west of the densely populated capital Port-au-Prince. Credit: Reuters Photo

Some 13,600 buildings were destroyed and more than 13,700 damaged, trapping hundreds under rubble and leaving more than 6000 people injured. Credit: Reuters Photo

Haiti already was struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, gang violence, worsening poverty and the political uncertainty following the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse when the earthquake sent residents rushing to the streets. Credit: Reuters Photo

People search for survivors under the rubble of a destroyed hotel after 7.2 magnitude quake, in Les Cayes, Haiti. Credit: Reuters Photo

Injured earthquake victims continued to stream into Les Cayes' overwhelmed general hospital, three days after the earthquake struck. Patients waited to be treated on stair steps, in corridors and the hospital's open veranda. Credit: Reuters Photo