This Sunday, a leading Haitian community group in Miami will mark 15 years since a devastating earthquake struck Haiti, leaving tens of thousands killed and injured, and displacing millions, in one of the Caribbean nation’s worst natural disasters.
The Family Action Network Movement plans to hold a vigil, beginning at 3 p.m., at the Toussaint Louverture Memorial Statue, 6136 N. Miami Avenue. The event will feature several speakers and include a moment of silence at 4:53 p.m., the minute the 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit near Port-au-Prince on Jan. 12, 2010. A procession to Little Haiti Cultural Center, 5925 NE 2nd Avenue, will follow at 5 p.m., according to organizers.
“We are gathering in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Haiti to remember one of the worst crises in modern history and to honor those who were killed and wounded as a result,” said Marleine Bastien, Executive Director of Family Action Network Movement, in a statement.
“We encourage all to join us to pray for the people of Haiti as they continue to face serious problems including corruption, a crippled infrastructure and grave human rights abuses,” she said. “Let us come together to remember, reflect, and pray for a strong, just, and thriving Haiti!"
READ MORE: Haiti 10 Years After The Earthquake: Why So Little Recovery Progress In A Decade?
This week, the U.N. Human Rights Office reported that more than 5,600 people were killed in Haiti last year as a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenya struggles to contain rampant gang violence. The number of killings increased by more than 20% compared with all of 2023, according to the report. In addition, more than 2,200 people were reported injured and nearly 1,500 kidnapped.
The 2010 earthquake struck just before 5 p.m. on Jan. 12, 2010, in southern Haiti, destroying more than 100,000 buildings and damaging 200,000 in densely packed Port-au-Prince and surrounding towns.
Haiti’s government put the death toll at more than 300,000, while a report commissioned by the U.S. government placed it between 46,000 and 85,000. The United Nations lost 102 staffers in the disaster, the largest single loss of life in its history.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
