Haitians are in desperate need for prayers as they face Tropical Storm Grace following the devastating earthquake last Saturday.
Faithwire released a video forwarded to them on the situation in Haiti after the storm arrived on Monday, just days after the 7.2 magnitude earthquake left multitudes of houses and buildings in rubble, 1,419 dead, and 6,000 injured as of Monday morning. While Reuters said that the death toll has risen to 1,941 by Tuesday. Local rescue operations are still in place to recover other survivors and the bodies of the dead.
The video showed "gut-wrenching" scenes of Haitians in tears trying to weather the storm. It particularly shows a scene in the earthquake's epicenter, Les Cayes, of a group of families trying to grab whatever they can find to keep dry. The video might be upsetting for it shows the "level of trauma Haitians are going through right now" as depicted by the fear palpable in it coupled with cries of desperation from the group of families.
The earthquake is said to have made 50% of houses in Les Cayes collapse. While other areas like Jeremie, which is on the west side of Haiti, was also hard hit by the earthquake but not like with Les Cayes.
Faithwire highlighted other videos on the effects of Tropical Storm Grace on Haiti such as the one posted by its Managing Editor Dan Andros on Tuesday. Andros urged for continuous prayers for Haiti for its people are in "desperation" due to their series of tragedies.
"So, keep praying for Haiti everyone. They are getting pummeled with a tropical storm this morning just days after the earthquake. This is from Les Cayes (the epicenter of the quake) earlier this morning. The cries of desperation are haunting, but need to be heard," Andros said.
Andros added in a succeeding post a video that shows a part of a mountainside collapsing and covering the road. Andros revealed that he once was in the said "mountain roads" and he alluded that the "mudslides" the storm is causing would be an obstruction to relief and rescue operations. In his final post, Andros also disclosed that the storm will cause flooding since "15 inches of rain" is "expected", adding to the misery of Haitians.
"The rain also is causing mudslides. I've been on these mountain roads. They connect the cities, so it's going to make it even harder to get heavy equipment from one place to the next," Andros stated.
While photos from the Associated Press show Haitians in refugee camps drenched under the rain of Tropical Depression Grace as they transport their belongings or find shelter from the rain. Reuters explained that the Haitians were transporting their belongings since they were moving out of the makeshift camps made for them due to the earthquake and moving indoors "to escape the tropical storm."
The "tent city" in Les Cayes were reported to have many children and babies and hundreds "scrambled to repair makeshift coverings made of wooden poles and tarps" to protect them.
A Haiti-migrant to the United States who is now a missionary of the Love and Hope Ministries, Gloria Rapaka, have stressed that prayers for conversion are more needed now for the island. Rapaka said in an interview with CBN News that the series of tragedies happening in Haiti--the increase in violence, the assassination of the president, the earthquake, and now the storm--are but testaments of this need among its people to "turn back to Jesus."
"Help us however the Lord has put in your heart. Don't forget to pray for the heart of the people to turn back to Jesus, because that's the best we can give them right now," Rapaka revealed.
Those who want to help the people in Haiti can give their donations to Operation Blessing.
