Naomi Osaka stands with quake-hit Haiti, pledges tournament prize money for relief

Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka, on Sunday, promised to help Haiti after the Caribbean nation was devasted by an earthquake on Saturday. The two-time Grand Slam winner pledged to donate her prize money from an upcoming tennis tournament for relief efforts. Sharing her grief over the tragedy, she expressed confidence that people will rise out of the calamity.

Naomi Osaka to donate prize money for Haiti earthquake relief

Naomi took to microblogging platform Twitter on Sunday and wrote it 'really hurts' to see the situation in Haiti. "I feel like we really can’t catch a break," she said. The 23-year-old informed that she was about to play a tournament this week, the Western & Southern Open, and would donate the prize money from it toHaiti. This is set to be her first tour event after withdrawing from the French Open earlier this year. 

"Our ancestors blood is strong we'll keep rising (sic),' she wrote in her post. 

7.2 magnitude earthquake rocks Haiti

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit southwestern Haiti on Saturday, killing over 300 people and injuring at least 1,800. The highest casualties were reported from the southern part of the country.

The country's prime minister, Ariel Henry announced a state of emergency in the entire nation for a month as he arranged help for the towns that faced destruction. The announcement came as rescuers and bystanders rushed to pull people out of the rubble. 

“The most important thing is to recover as many survivors as possible under the rubble,” said Henry. “We have learned that the local hospitals, in particular that of Les Cayes, are overwhelmed with wounded, fractured people,” he added.

He said, "The needs are enormous. We must take care of the injured and fractured, but also provide food, aid, temporary shelter and psychological support.” 

Haiti, located in the Caribbean, is prone to earthquakes and hurricanes. It was hit by a massive 7.1 earthquake in 2010 that killed an estimated 300,00 people and destroyed much of the capital, Port-au-Prince. In 2018. a 5.9-magnitude earthquake had caused massive destruction, killed severe loss to life and property. 

(With inputs from AP)