The death toll from Haiti's 7.2-magnitude earthquake has risen to 1297, a day after the massive quake destroyed thousands of structures and prompted frantic rescue attempts ahead of a probable deluge from an impending tropical storm.

At least 5700 people were hurt in the Caribbean nation's earthquake on Saturday, with thousands more displaced from their wrecked or damaged houses. Survivors in some locations were forced to wait in the open for help from overburdened hospitals in terrible temperatures.

However, Tropical Depression Grace, which is expected to hit Haiti on Monday night, might exacerbate the catastrophe. Grace was downgraded to a depression by the US National Hurricane Center on Sunday (US time), but forecasters cautioned that it still posed a hazard of heavy rain, flooding, and landslides.

The earthquake hit the poorest country in the hemisphere's south-western corner, nearly razing several cities and causing landslides that impeded rescue attempts in a country already dealing with a coronavirus pandemic, a presidential assassination, and a surge of gang violence.

According to the US Geological Survey, the epicenter was roughly 125 kilometers west of Port-au-Prince, and aftershocks have continued to shake the region.

Jennie Auguste rested on a flimsy foam mattress on the tarmac of the community's little airport in the heavily wrecked coastal town of Les Cayes, hoping for anything — space in a hospital or a small jet like the ones ferrying the wounded to the capital. When the roof of the store where she works collapsed, she was injured in the chest, abdomen, and arm.

“Nothing has happened. Auguste's sister, Bertrande, stated, "No help, no help from the government."

Other families salvaged their few things and spent the night at an open-air football pitch in scenes seen across the region affected by the quake. At a local street market on Sunday morning, people waited up to buy what little was available: bananas, avocados, and water.

Many people flocked to the city's cathedral, which appeared to be unscathed even though the priests' apartment was demolished, to thank God for surviving the earthquake.

Johanne Dorcely, 58, whose home was destroyed, stated, “We only have Jesus now.” “I wouldn't be able to be here today if it weren't for Jesus.”

Prime Minister Ariel Henry issued a one-month state of emergency across the country on Saturday, saying he was delivering relief to places where towns had been damaged and hospitals had been overburdened.

Humanitarian needs are urgent, according to UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore, with many Haitians in desperate need of health care, clean water, and shelter. She believes that children who have been separated from their parents require protection.

“Haiti is reeling once again, little more than a decade later,” Fore said in a statement. “And this disaster comes at the same time as political unrest, gang violence, alarmingly high rates of child malnutrition, and the COVID-19 pandemic, for which Haiti has received only 500,000 vaccine doses despite needing far more. It is now more important than ever to get the vaccine to individuals who have been affected by the earthquake.”

Last month, the 11-million-strong country received the first batch of coronavirus vaccines provided by the United States under a United Nations initiative for low-income countries.

The death toll in Haiti was upped to 304 on Sunday by the Office of Civil Protection. According to the agency, almost 7000 dwellings were destroyed and another 5000 were damaged. Hospitals, schools, offices, and churches all suffered damage.

As hospitals in Les Cayes began to run out of space to perform surgery, medical workers from all around the region scrambled to assist.

Dr. Inobert Pierre, a pediatrician with the nonprofit Health Equity International, which runs the St Boniface Hospital, some two hours from Les Cayes, said, “Basically, they need everything.”

“Many of the patients have open wounds and have been exposed to unsanitary elements,” Pierre said after seeing two hospitals in Les Cayes, one with 200 patients and the other with roughly 90. “We expect a large number of infections.”

Pierre's medical team was transporting some patients to St Boniface Hospital for surgery, but they could only transfer four patients at a time with just two ambulances.

A half-dozen injured earthquake victims from the Les Cayes area were transported to the Port-Au-Prince airport by small planes from a private company and the Florida-based missionary group Agape Flights. Young guys with bandages and a woman were carried to waiting for Haitian Red Cross ambulances on stretchers.

On Saturday, rescue planes made numerous airlifts of roughly a half-dozen injured victims apiece, according to Silvestre Plaza Rico, who was coordinating one of the volunteer flights. Plaza Rico stated, "There were many, many, many people from various towns."

The earthquake occurred barely over a month after President Jovenel Mose was assassinated in his home, causing political upheaval in the country. Martine Mose, who was gravely injured in the incident, took to Twitter to urge unity among Haitians, saying, "Let's put our shoulders together to bring solidarity."

Shortly after the earthquake, Henry stated that he wanted "structured solidarity" to guarantee that the reaction was coordinated, to prevent the disarray that accompanied the disastrous 2010 earthquake when relief was late to reach victims.

Following Moise's assassination, which police say was carried out by a group of mostly Colombian mercenaries with Haitian accomplices, Henry stated that government will try to arrange presidential elections as quickly as possible.

President Joe Biden authorized an emergency response and nominated Samantha Power, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, to lead the US effort to assist Haiti.

On Sunday, Power stated that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was deploying a search and rescue team from Virginia to Haiti at the request of the Haitian government. According to Power, the 65-person team would bring specialized tools and medical supplies to aid in the catastrophe response.

The US Coast Guard said a helicopter was delivering medical staff from the Haitian capital to the quake zone and evacuating injured people back to Port-au-Prince, in collaboration with USAID. A spokesman, Lt Commander Jason Nieman, said another helicopter was being dispatched from the Bahamas, along with additional planes and ships.

Several members of Cuba's 253-member health-care mission to Haiti were already on the scene, and the socialist country's state media broadcast photographs of them providing first assistance to earthquake victims.

Samaritan's Purse, located in North Carolina, has stated that it will fly 13 disaster response specialists and 31 tons of critical goods to Haiti. Shelter materials and water filtration equipment are among them.

Gang violence in the seaside suburb of Martissant, just west of the Haitian capital, has also hampered relief efforts, according to humanitarian workers.

In a statement, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Haiti's southern peninsula is a "hotspot for gang-related violence," where humanitarian workers have been targeted on numerous occasions, including a Doctors Without Borders emergency health center that was attacked in June. Because of roadblocks and security concerns, the area has been "virtually unreachable" for the previous two months, according to the agency.

According to the agency, "all of these factors combined will create significant logistical challenges in reaching the most affected areas," adding that "displacement has created ripe conditions for a spike in COVID-19 infections."

Haiti is subject to earthquakes and storms, and many people live in precarious conditions. In 2018, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake killed over a dozen people.

In 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck close to heavily populated Port-au-Prince, causing catastrophic devastation. The Haitian government put the death toll at over 300,000, whereas a US government-commissioned assessment put it between 46,000 and 85,000.

On Sunday, Pope Francis conveyed his love for the people of Haiti, offering condolences for the victims and words of encouragement to the survivors. The Pope called on the international community to unite to "assist in alleviating the tragedy's consequences."

Following Moise's assassination, which police say was carried out by a group of mostly Colombian mercenaries with Haitian accomplices, Henry stated that government will try to arrange presidential elections as quickly as possible.