1,419 people are dead and 6,000 more are injured after a powerful earthquake hit Haiti

• A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck off the coast of Haiti on Saturday.
• Haitian authorities said at least 1,419 people have been killed in the quake, with 6,000 injured.
• Haiti is still recovering from a magnitude 7.0 earthquake that devastated the country in 2010.

At least 1,419 people have been killed and 6,000 injured in Haiti after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the country on Saturday, Haitian authorities announced, according to Reuters.

People whose homes were destroyed in the disaster had to spend the night sleeping in hospital gardens and soccer fields.

The quake struck the country at roughly 8:30 a.m. local time, some 7.5 miles northeast of Saint-Louis-du-Sud, and more than 90 miles west of the capital, Port-au-Prince, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.

Then, 20 minutes after the first quake, a 5.2-magnitude tremor struck the island.

Videos on social media showed destroyed buildings and distressed voices shouting as the population reels from the disaster. Some floods also appeared to have started in the country, raising the risk for more damage to follow the quake, which was felt as far as Cuba and Jamaica.

-Mundo en Conflicto (@MundoEConflicto) August 14, 2021

-Leonardo Feldman (@LeoFeldmanNEWS) August 14, 2021

The rescue and aid efforts could be complicated by Tropical Depression Grace, which is expected to lash Haiti with heavy rainfall on Monday.

Some 75 to 100 milliliters of rainfall was expected, which may trigger landslides and cause some rivers to flood, Haiti's Civil Protection Agency said, according to Reuters.

It also said that almost 14,000 houses have been destroyed so far.

Ariel Henry, Haiti's new prime minister, declared a one-month state of emergency and said some towns had been almost completely razed.

"The most important thing is to recover as many survivors as possible under the rubble," Henry said, the Associated Press reported. "We have learned that the local hospitals, in particular that of Les Cayes, are overwhelmed with wounded, fractured people."

The White House said in a statement Saturday evening that President Joe Biden had authorized an "immediate US response" and tapped USAID Administrator Samantha Power to lead the effort.

"Through USAID, we are supporting efforts to assess the damage and assist efforts to recover those who were injured and those who must now rebuild," Biden's statement said. "The United States remains a close and enduring friend to the people of Haiti, and we will be there in the aftermath of this tragedy."

-Samantha Power (@PowerUSAID) August 15, 2021

-Ralph Simon (@RalphSimon13) August 14, 2021

The US Tsunami Warning Center warned of a possible tsunami threat in the wake of the earthquake, but later rescinded it.

Haiti is still recovering from its 2010 disaster

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake rocked the country in 2010, killing between 220,000 and 300,000 people.

The impoverished Caribbean nation, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, is still recovering from the 2010 disaster. There were 52 aftershocks that followed the 2010 quake, which raises the question of how much damage is still yet to come from today's tremor.

In 2017, the United Nations said that 2.5 million Haitians still needed aid following the quake that devastated the country seven years earlier.

At the time, UN Humanitarian Coordinator Mourad Wahba gave a harrowing account of the challenges that the country continued to face.

"There are still about 55,000 people in camps and makeshift camps," he said. "Many are still living in unsanitary conditions due to displacement caused by the earthquake. We have a very long way to go."

In 2018, the country was also hit by a 5.9-magnitude earthquake in 2018 that killed 18 people.

Saturday's quake also comes amid unrest following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in his home last month.