Metallica announced on Wednesday (Aug. 25) that its All Within My Hands Foundation has donated $50,000 to aid earthquake relief in Haiti following a recent devastating temblor.
“At least 2,207 have died, over 12k injured & 50k homes destroyed by the devastating 7.2 quake,” the organization wrote in a tweet announcing the donation.
According to Direct Relief, the Aug. 14 quake has caused significant damage to critical infrastructure on the island, and injured more than 12,000. The situation was exacerbated by a second disaster in the form of tropical depression Grace, which subsequently caused flooding in quake-affected communities. The organization said post-storm flooding and lack of shelter, and access to clean water and sanitation have drastically increased the risk of the spread of COVID-19, cholera and other diseases.
Experts say the residents of the island are in desperate need of medical relief, tents, hygiene kits and PPE. In the wake of the quake, artists including Cardi B, Don Omar, Steven Van Zandt sent their thoughts and prayers, with Cardi tweeting, “I got a soft spot for Haiti and it’s people. They my cousins. I pray for Haiti they go thru soo much. God please cover that land and it’s people.”
Omar also addressed the disaster, tweeting in Spanish, “In times of tragedy we have been a united people who have managed to move forward, now is the time to unite and help in this tragedy #Haiti.”
Haiti is still recovering from a 5.9 earthquake in 2018 that killed more than a dozen people, and a 7.1 magnitude quake in 2010 that damaged the impoverished country’s capital and killed an estimated 300,000 people, according to the Associated Press. The country is also in the midst of a political crisis following July’s assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
See Metallica’s announcement about their donation:
