Haiti Marks 8th Anniversary Of Deadly Quake
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MIAMI (CBSMiami/CNN) - A somber anniversary for the people of Haiti.
Friday marks the eighth anniversary of the devastating 7.1 magnitude earthquake that rocked the Caribbean nation. Death toll estimates vary, but it's believed at least 220,000 people were killed in the quake.
A contingent from Lynn University, 12 students and two faculty members, was in Port-au-Prince on a January Term course titled "Journey of Hope" to serve the people of Haiti when the quake struck. Four students and both faculty members were killed.
More than 1.5 million were initially left homeless. As of last September, nearly 38,000 people remain displaced.
The quake also damaged or destroyed nearly four thousand schools in the country.
The Haitian Embassy in Washington will hold a moment of silence to honor those who died in the earthquake. The moment of silence comes one day after President Donald Trump used an expletive to describe the people who came to the U.S. from Haiti and several other countries. The comment came during a talk on immigration reform between the president and lawmakers.
The Haitian government has summoned the top-ranking U.S. diplomat to explain the president's comment.
(©2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. CNN contributed to this report.)