LES CAYES, Haiti — The death toll from a powerful magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Haiti climbed sharply on Sunday, with at least 724 dead and a minimum of 2,800 injured.

The updated figures from Haiti’s Office of Civil Protection follow a previous count of 304 dead. The office’s director, Jerry Chandler, said rescuers are continuing to search for possible survivors under the rubble.

People in the Caribbean island nation rushed into the streets to seek safety and to help help rescue those trapped in the rubble of collapsed homes, hotels and other structures.

Saturday’s earthquake struck the southwestern part of the hemisphere’s poorest nation, almost razing some towns and triggering landslides that hampered rescue efforts in two of the hardest-hit communities. The disaster added to the plight of Haitians who were already grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, a presidential assassination and a wave of gang violence.

The epicenter of the quake was about 125 kilometers (78 miles) west of the capital of Port-au-Prince, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The widespread damage could worsen by early next week, with Tropical Storm Grace predicted to reach Haiti late Monday or early Tuesday, bringing torrential rains.

Aftershocks were felt throughout the day and through the night, when many people now homeless or frightened by the possibility of their fractured homes collapsing on them stayed in the streets to sleep — if their nerves allowed.

In the badly damaged coastal town of Les Cayes, some families salvaged their few belongings and spent the night at an open-air football pitch. On Sunday morning, people lined up to buy what little was available: bananas, avocados and water at a local street market.

Some in the town praised God for surviving the earthquake, and many went to the city’s cathedral, which appeared outwardly undamaged even if the priests’ residence was destroyed.

“We only have Jesus now,” said Johanne Dorcely, 58, whose house was destroyed. “If it wasn’t for Jesus, I wouldn’t be able to be here today.”

Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he was rushing aid to areas where towns were destroyed and hospitals overwhelmed with patients. A former senator rented a private airplane to move injured people from Les Cayes to Port-au-Prince for medical assistance.

Henry declared a one-month state of emergency for the whole country and said he would not ask for international help until the extent of damage was known.

“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.”

Rescue workers and bystanders were able to pull many people to safety from the rubble.

Chandler said a partial survey of structural damage found at least 860 destroyed homes and more than 700 damaged. Hospitals, schools, offices and churches were also affected.

On the tiny island of Ile-a-Vache, about 6.5 miles (10.5 kilometers) from Les Cayes, the quake damaged a seaside resort popular with Haitian officials, business leaders, diplomats and humanitarian workers. Fernand Sajous, owner of the Abaka Bay Resort, said by telephone that nine of the hotel’s 30 rooms collapsed, but he said they were vacant at the time and no one was injured.

“They disappeared — just like that,” Sajous said.

People in Les Cayes tried to pull guests from the rubble of a collapsed hotel, but as the sun set, they had only been able to recover the body of a 7-year-old girl whose home was behind the facility.

“I have eight kids, and I was looking for the last one,” Jean-Claude Daniel said through tears. “I will never see her again alive. The earthquake destroyed my life. It took a child away from me.”

The reports of overwhelmed hospitals come as Haiti struggles with the pandemic and a lack of resources to deal with it. The country of 11 million people received its first batch of U.S.-donated coronavirus vaccines only last month via a United Nations program for low-income countries.

The earthquake also struck just over a month after President Jovenel Moise was shot to death in his home, sending the country into political chaos. His widow, Martine Moise, who was seriously wounded in the attack, posted a message on Twitter calling for unity among Haitians: “Let’s put our shoulders together to bring solidarity.”

As he boarded a plane bound for Les Cayes, Henry said he wanted “structured solidarity” to ensure the response was coordinated to avoid the confusion that followed the devastating 2010 earthquake, when aid was slow to reach residents after as many as 300,000 Haitians were killed.

U.S. President Joe Biden authorized an immediate response and named USAID Administrator Samantha Power to oversee the U.S effort to help Haiti. USAID will help to assess damage and assist in rebuilding, said Biden, who called the United States a “close and enduring friend to the people of Haiti.”

Power announced Sunday that USAID was sending a search and rescue team at the request of Haiti’s government. The 65-person team will bring specialized tools and medical supplies to assist with the disaster response, Power said on Twitter.

Argentina and Chile also were among the first nations to promise help.

The North Carolina-based aid group Samaritan’s Purse announced Sunday it would airlift 13 disaster response specialists and 31 tons of emergency supplies to Haiti. Those include shelter materials and water filtration units.

Humanitarian workers said gang activity in the seaside district of Martissant, just west of the Haitian capital, also was complicating relief efforts.

“Nobody can travel through the area,” Ndiaga Seck, a UNICEF spokesman in Port-au-Prince, said by phone. “We can only fly over or take another route.”

Seck said information about deaths and damage was slow coming to Port-au-Prince because of spotty internet service, but UNICEF planned to send medical supplies to two hospitals in the south, in Les Cayes and Jeremie.

People in Port-au-Prince felt the tremor and many rushed into the streets in fear, although there did not appear to be damage there.

Haiti, where many live in tenuous circumstances, is vulnerable to earthquakes and hurricanes. A magnitude 5.9 earthquake in 2018 killed more than a dozen people.

By early Sunday, the island had experienced six aftershocks stronger than magnitude 5.0 and more above 4.0.

Claude Prepetit, a Haitian civil engineer and geologist, warned of the danger from cracked structures.

“More or less intensive aftershocks are to be expected for a month,” he said, cautioning that some buildings, “badly damaged during the earthquake, can collapse during aftershocks.”

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Regina Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City. AP writers Tammy Webber in Fenton, Michigan, Josh Boak in Washington and Trenton Daniel in New York contributed to this report.

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Six Big Ten recruits, including two each for Illinois and Northwestern, highlight the list of the area’s top 10 receivers.

1. Kaleb Brown, St. Rita

The 5-11, 177-pound senior burst on the scene as a freshman promoted to the varsity for the 2018 Prep Bowl playoffs. His elite speed was on display the following spring when he won three state track medals (two individual, one relay). The four-star prospect, consensus No. 2 player in the state and No. 6 wide receiver in the country is committed to Ohio State.

2. Reggie Fleurima, Naperville Central

Like Brown, Fleurima is a four-star prospect. He’s No. 5 in the state’s senior class and No. 33 among wideouts nationally according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings. The 6-2, 200-pounder is a Northwestern recruit.

3. Malik Elzy, Simeon

Even with a small body of work because of the pandemic disruption, Elzy is on track to be the next big-time recruit from the Public League. The 6-3, 198-pound junior is a consensus four-star prospect with 12 Power Five offers. Among them: Notre Dame, Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Tennessee.

4. Jacob Bostick, Palatine

At 6-3, 170 pounds, the best player in the Mid-Suburban League creates matchup problems with his combination of length and speed. He’s the state’s No. 8 senior and is committed to Iowa.

5. Chris Petrucci, Maine South

The state’s premier senior tight end is one of three Northwestern recruits ranked among the state’s top 10 seniors. At 6-5, 210 pounds, he’ll be a favorite target for Hawks quarterback Rowan Keefe.

St. Rita’s Kaleb Brown (3) looks on during the game against Notre Dame.Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

6. Tysean Griffin, Morgan Park

Just two weeks after playing his first high school game as a freshman last spring, Griffin picked up his first scholarship offer. The list is up to seven for the 5-11, 165-pound sophomore, including Arkansas, Tennessee and Illinois.

7. Eian Pugh, Fenwick

At No. 13 in the class of 2022, the 6-4, 170-pounder is the highest-ranked, in-state recruit for first-year Illinois coach Bret Bielema. Expect him to put up big numbers this fall teaming up with Ball State-bound quarterback Kaden Cobb.

8. Henry Boyer, Brother Rice

With power forward size at 6-7, 250 pounds, Boyer will be a force on both sides of the line for the Crusaders at tight end and defensive end. He’ll play the former in college as another in-state recruit for Illinois.

9. Max Reese, Fenwick

Opposing defenses will have their hands full defending Pugh and Reese, the best wide receiver tandem in the area. Reese, a 6-3, 200-pounder, is one of the state’s top uncommitted seniors. His 11 offers include Arizona State and Kansas.

10. Jashawn Johnson, Hoffman Estates

A varsity starter since week six of his freshman season, Johnson is a playmaker at wide receiver and defensive back. He’s committed to Western Michigan to play offense.

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A man was shot and critically wounded in a drive-by Sunday in Back of the Yards on the South Side.

Just after 4:35 a.m., the victim, 39, was preparing to enter a vehicle when a passing white SUV opened fire, Chicago Police said.

He was struck in the head and taken to University of Chicago Medical Center where he was initially listed in critical condition, police said.

No one was in custody.

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A person attempting to shoot at a vehicle while driving caused both to crash into a restaurant in Mayfair on the Northwest Side.

Around 3:10 a.m., an unknown occupant inside of a red Toyota Camry was shooting at a Chevy Tahoe while driving, causing the Tahoe and a black Jeep Cherokee to crash into a restaurant in the 4400 block of North Kostner Avenue, Chicago Police said.

The occupants of the Camry fled the scene and have not been found, but a weapon was recovered from the vehicle, police said.

Two occupants of the Tahoe and two of the Jeep didn’t suffer serious injuries, but were taken to Stroger Hospital and Mount Sinai Hospital for observation, police said.

No one was in custody.

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Three things we learned from Bears quarterback Justin Fields’ tantalizing preseason performance Saturday night:

He beat the clock

Fields did well in the two-minute drill Saturday — or, rather, the 16-second drill.

“We talk about and teach and show tape of it — but we didn’t really practice it a whole lot,” coach Matt Nagy said.

On third-and-five from the Bears’ 37 with 16 seconds left in the first half. Fields stepped up in the pocket and rolled right. He pulled up to throw slightly across his body, but still down the right flank, to Justin Hardy. He caught the ball for 15 yards. The Bears took their final timeout.

“I was just rolling out and I saw him late, last minute and jumped it up to him,” Fields said.

With eight seconds left, the Bears needed at least six yards to give Cairo Santos a field goal try. Knowing he couldn’t stop the clock again, Fields checked the ball down to tight end Jesse James along the right sideline. James stepped out for a gain of eight yards and Santos tried, and made, a 53-yarder.

“I was trying to, of course, pay attention to the clock,” Fields said. “And also throw it to the perimeter so he would have a chance to get out of bounds.”

Fields’ poise jumped out to his coach.

“The one thing you felt from Justin, that we all took away from down there, was, he was extremely calm the whole time,” Nagy said.

He needs to stop spinning

Bears fans across the country winced when Fields scrambled left on third-and-12 from his own 12 with 2:15 left in the first half. Rather than looking to slide or get out of bounds, he tried to put a spin move on cornerback Nik Needham, who tackled him and popped the ball out.

It rolled out of bounds. Lesson learned.

Earlier this month, Fields said he didn’t want a repeat of his scramble in the national semifinal against Clemson. He tried a spin move in that game, was speared and hurt his ribs. The injury left him limited in the national title game.

“So after that, I think I’m going to officially retire the spin move,” Fields said Saturday with a smile. “I don’t see that coming out any time soon. But yeah, I just need to be smarter with ball security, and either slide or get out of bounds in that situation.”

He’s a matchup problem

On third-and-9 about three minutes into the third quarter, Fields was pressured to the right. Receiver Rodney Adams, who started off in the left slot, ran a shallow cross toward the right sideline. Cornerback Javaris Davis was plastered all over Adams until he was forced to make a decision: to keep covering Adams or run toward Fields.

He chose poorly.

Fields sprinted toward the line of scrimmage before pulling up and tossing a pass to Adams, who skittered up the right sideline for 13 yards. It exemplified what the Bears learned interviewing defensive coordinators this offseason: accounting for an athletic quarterback is the biggest challenge in the sport.

“Puts a lot of pressure on the defense and allows me to really play backyard football with the receivers and scramble,” Fields said. “And the more that happens and the more we can get on the same page when I do get out of the pocket, the better we can be.

“Of course I also have to be able to make smart decisions. I can’t always force the ball. Of course sometimes I have to throw the ball away. But, yeah, it’s definitely a part of my game where I feel very comfortable.”

Particularly against man defenses.

“That’s going to put a lot of stress on [them] because they don’t know whether to come and get me or stay on their man,” Fields said. “With zone teams, it’s a little bit different.

“But, man, literally, you’re playing backyard football.”

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