Haiti earthquake death toll rises to 724 as search through rubble continues

Haiti's earthquake death toll as risen to 724 and thousands more have been reported missing or wounded.

Rescuers continue to search through rubble after Saturday morning's devastating shake that buried people in flattened buildings.

Haiti's Civil Protection Service said hundreds of people have been reported missing since the 7.2 magnitude shake hit the country's southwest.

At least 1,800 people were injured in the disaster, the authority added.

Homes, hotels and buildings were reduced to piles of rubble in the town of Les Cayes, the closest built-up area to the quake's epicentre.

The quake struck 11 years after a major earthquake killed an estimated 300,000 people in Haiti.

A destroyed building in Les Cayes following the devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake ( REUTERS)

Some Haitians spent Saturday night sleeping in the open, traumatised by memories of the magnitude 7 quake in 2010 that struck far closer to the capital, Port-au-Prince, killing scores of people.

The latest disaster hit the impoverished nation during a time of political turmoil, while it also grapples with health services overwhelmed by the pandemic.

Rescue workers scrambled to find survivors buried under hundreds of flattened buildings a day after the quake and as a tropical storm bore down on the country.

Red Cross paramedics carry a girl injured during a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Les Cayes ( REUTERS)

Haiti's Prime Minister declared a state of national emergency for one month after the 8.30am quake visited fresh chaos and tragedy upon the Caribbean nation.

Southwestern Haiti bore the brunt of the blow, especially in the region in and around the city of Les Cayes.

Churches, hotels, hospitals and schools were badly damaged or destroyed, while the walls of a prison were rent open by the violent shudders that convulsed Haiti.

A Cuban medical brigade help earthquake victims in Jeremie, in the area of Grand'Anse, Haiti ( CUBA'S INTERNATIONAL PRESS CENTR)

"We need to show a lot of solidarity with the emergency," said Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry, a neurosurgeon who took leadership of the troubled country after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise on July 7.

The rescue efforts are set to be made more complicated by the arrival of Tropical Storm Grace, which is set to lash Haiti with heavy rainfall on Monday.

There was also the possibility of flash flooding, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

A group of people clear rubble in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince ( Duples Plymouth/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

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.

Rescuer 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.

Although unconfirmed reports on social media suggested they would let aid pass, the Reuters news agency reports.

The United States sent vital supplies and deployed an urban search-and-rescue team with specialised equipment to Haiti.

Cuban medical brigades rushed to Haiti to help treat earthquake victims, and other nations, including Mexico, offered aid.

Pope Francis issued a plea to more nations to send aid to the struggling country on Sunday.

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