Haiti earthquake death toll soars to 1,297, rescue operations underway- In pics

Southwestern Haiti bore the brunt of the blow, especially in the region in and around the town of Les Cayes. Haiti`s Civil Protection Agency said the toll from the disaster had climbed to 1,297 and the hospitals that were still functioning were struggling to cope with some 5,700 injured people registered so far.

"We must work together to provide rapid and effective responses to this extremely serious situation," said Haiti`s Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who had flown to Les Cayes.

(Credits: Reuters)

Rescue workers scrambled to find survivors buried under buildings a day after the 7.2 magnitude quake and as a tropical storm bore down on the Caribbean nation.

The quake flattened hundreds of homes and buildings in a Caribbean nation which is still clawing its way back from another major temblor 11 years ago and reeling from the assassination of its president last month.

(Credits: Reuters)

The rescue and aid efforts will be complicated by Tropical Storm Grace, which is expected to lash Haiti with heavy rainfall on Monday. Some parts of Haiti are also at risk of flash floods, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

"We are bracing for Tropical Storm Grace," the Civil Protection Agency`s Chandler told Reuters. Thousands of people sleeping in the streets would be exposed to the torrential rains amid a rising risk of water-borne diseases, he said.

(Credits: Reuters)

Footage of Saturday`s aftermath posted on social media showed residents reaching into narrow openings in piles of fallen masonry to pull shocked and distraught people from the debris of walls and roofs that had crumbled around them.

Access to the worst-hit areas was complicated by a deterioration in law and order that has left key access roads in parts of Haiti in the hands of gangs. In a video posted on social media, one gang leader said the armed groups had declared a truce along the route to Les Cayes.

(Credits: Reuters)

Nearby countries, including the Dominican Republic and Mexico, rushed to send desperately needed food and medicines by air and across Haiti's land border.

The United States dispatched vital supplies and deployed a 65-person urban search-and-rescue team with specialized equipment, said Samantha Power, the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

(Credits: Reuters)