Haiti hospitals overwhelmed by quake victims as death toll hits 1,297

Members of a rescue and protection team clean debris from a house after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Les Cayes, Haiti August 15, 2021. [Reuters, Ralph Tedy]

Haiti's hospitals were swamped on Sunday by thousands of injured residents after a devastating earthquake the day before killed at least 1,297 people as authorities raced to bring doctors to the worst-hit areas before a major storm hits.

The 7.2 magnitude quake on Saturday destroyed thousands of homes and buildings in a Caribbean nation which is still clawing its way back from another major temblor 11 years ago and is reeling from the assassination of its president last month.