Switzerland has sent a team of seven specialists to Haiti as the death toll from a recent earthquake tops the 2,000 mark.
The 7.2-magnitude earthquake that hit the southwestern part of the country on Saturday has also injured around 12,000 people and displaced thousands more.
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) team sent on Thursday consists of a logistician, two water and sanitation specialists, two structural engineers, a disaster area adviser and a team leader.
“Haiti is a priority country for the SDC, which immediately mobilised its staff on the ground – including architects, emergency shelter and disaster risk reduction specialists – to support the Haitian civil protection services in assessing needs,” read a press statement on Thursday.
Efforts are underway in Port-Salut and the Cayes district to deploy 3,250 tarpaulins and two drinking water distribution points of 5,000 litres in the areas that were at the epicentre of the earthquake.
Switzerland has also confirmed that it plans to spend CHF1 million ($1.1 million) to fund emergency relief, with half of this amount earmarked to support International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and United Nations activities.
The Catholic Church charity Caritas said on Thursday that it has raised CHF300,000 for the victims of the earthquake.
The Swiss authorities have not so far received any requests for support from Swiss citizens living in Haiti.
Source: Swiss Info
