7.0 Earthquake Tuesday in Haiti

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[justafarmer]

Haiti was hit by a 7.0 earthquake today, Tuesday, January 12. Aftershocks are 5.5- 5.9.

news story tonight from New York Times:

The White House said President Obama was informed of the earthquake at 5:52 p.m. He directed his staff to begin preparations in case humanitarian assistance is needed. The State Department, the United States Agency for International Development and the United States Southern Command began working to coordinate an assessment, aides said.

“My thoughts and prayers go out to those who have been affected by this earthquake,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. “We are closely monitoring the situation and we stand ready to assist the people of Haiti.”

Haiti quake causes widespread damage

Relief effort info:
CIDI Urges Appropiriate Response

Here's is a Realtime image site (warning! some of the pix are very graphic!)

Haiti earthquake

[0whole1]

HuffPo article on how to help:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/12/haiti-earthquake-relief-h_n_421014.html

[0whole1]

These guys might be of use too:
http://crs.org/haiti/

[justafarmer]

ty 0whole1!
I was gathering relief info and modifying my original post while you were replying.

[Forty Watt]

As if these folks didn't have enough problems.

The presidential palace in the capital was among the buildings badly damaged, Raymond Alcide Joseph, Haiti's ambassador to the US, said.

Joseph told Al Jazeera that he had spoken to Fritz Longchamp, chief of staff to Haiti's president, who said "buildings were crumbling right and left" near the palace.

"I think it's really a catastrophe of major proportions," Joseph said.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/01/201011223123954716.html

Here is the story about the climate devastation Haiti faces without this on top of it all.

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/climatesos/2009/10/200910917123808851.html

[daMamma]

That looks just totally devastating.  The whole place is one giant wreak. 

I am glad our president started pulling things together the moment he heard.  They sure are going to need every bit of help they can get.

 

[Sister Artemis]

I'm just sick at heart hearing about this.  Haiti is one of the poorest, if not THE poorest in the region, and can ill afford to deal with this level of devastation.  I'm very glad that the U.S. is jumping on the help wagon so fast - as hard as things are here, we are so fortunate as to be able to help, plus we're so close geographically I think we really can be of fast, meaningful assistance.  That said, when you've lost your home, your hospital, the lives of your family members and your friends, or your own life, any assistance we can bring still can't heal some of the deepest wounds caused by such a devastating natural disaster.

[0whole1]

ty 0whole1!
I was gathering relief info and modifying my original post while you were replying.

NP.  I just read the HuffPo article a couple of minutes before seeing your post.

[Lani]

MSNBC is running a special live report now - midnight on the east coast.

[futurexpat?]

MSNBC is running a special live report now - midnight on the east coast.

Thanks, Lani. It's so tragic.

[justafarmer]

another relief effort site:
City Brights

[Writing from Alaska]

I have friends here in Anchorage whose adult children are there - one had been there for a few weeks doing relief work and the other just went to visit before they were to fly out on Saturday. Waiting to hear how they are.

[0whole1]

I have friends here in Anchorage whose adult children are there - one had been there for a few weeks doing relief work and the other just went to visit before they were to fly out on Saturday. Waiting to hear how they are.

This site has a blog that might be useful to post a query about them: http://crs.org/haiti/

I saw it in passing, so dunno on usefulness.  I read somewhere along the line that telephone service on the island was out, as of about 4 hours ago.

[Sirenoftitan]

I have friends here in Anchorage whose adult children are there - one had been there for a few weeks doing relief work and the other just went to visit before they were to fly out on Saturday. Waiting to hear how they are.

I hope they hear from them soon.

<snip>
In a statement issued in New York, the UN said that its local HQ in Haiti had "sustained serious damage along with other UN installations" and "a large number" of personnel were missing.  UN peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy said it was unclear how many people had been inside the building.  The head of the UN mission in Haiti, Hedi Annabi, was reported to have been in the building and is unaccounted for.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8455629.stm

[daMamma]

I was reading in Reuters this morning, and they said the whole darn 5 story UN building has come down.  There were between 100-150 employees inside at the time of the quake and feared dead. 
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60B5IZ20100113?feedType=nl&feedName=ustopnewsearly

An eyewitness to the event said that the quake was so bad he watched a car bouncing off the street.  How serious does the ground have to be shaking to bounce a car right up and down off the street?  Outside the city there were no emergency workers to help.  No police, fire or ambulances.  People were sifting through fallen homes with flashlights looking for others.

The photographs of the devastation just floors you.

[Forty Watt]

The Boston Haitian Reporter is live blogging reactions, the rescue effort, and accounts of missing or found relatives here.

http://www.bostonhaitian.com/node/64

[Sirenoftitan]

International efforts to help Haiti in the wake of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake are under way, with governments across the world and aid agencies mobilising search and rescue teams and aid supplies.  Although the full scale of the disaster has yet to emerge, it is clear that it will pose a huge challenge.  Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, is still struggling to recover from devastating hurricanes in 2008.  It needs all kinds of help, from emergency and medical aid, to food aid, to the longer-term rebuilding of infrastructure.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8456192.stm

Haitian President Rene Preval has said thousands of people are feared dead following a huge quake which has devastated the country's capital.  UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the head of the UN mission in Haiti and his deputy were among more than 100 staff missing.  The 7.0-magnitude quake, Haiti's worst in two centuries, struck south of Port-au-Prince, on Tuesday.  Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive told US network CNN he believed more than 100,000 people had died.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8456819.stm

[boodog]

The White House web site has a phone number for Americans looking for news or information about relatives and friends in Haiti. 888-407-4747

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2010/01/obama-haiti-will-get-full-support-of-us/1

[pacos_gal]

As more news has become available today the size of the devastation within Haiti has also become clearer.  The infrastructure of this country has been severely compromised.  The National Palace collapsed, the Roman Catholic cathedral collapsed, the arch bishop dead, the UN headquarters collapsed it's leader missing and now feared dead.  Banks, churches, schools, parliament, all wiped out.  The prison collapsed, some inmates dead, others escaped.  Hospitals collapsed.  Telephone service out, electrical out, this is a HUGE disaster.  How long it will take the country to recover and what it will be like when it does is anyones guess.  

Water and medical supplies are probably the highest need at the moment.  Triage centers have been set up in parking lots, but with no medical supplies and no one coming to treat them, infections will set in soon and the situation will continue to worsen.  With the UN rescue organization itself in disarray, someone is going to need to set up a central command post for all the organizations and countries that are trying to get help into Haiti.  This needs to happen sooner rather than later.  
Countries are rallying to the cry for help, but how will they know where to go, where to send supplies and people, where the triage centers are located, etc if no one within Haiti is available to step up and start organizing.  

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100113/world/cb_haiti_earthquake

[pacos_gal]

I know that there have been quite a few donation links already put up, but one organization I'd encourage anyone thinking of donating to look at is Doctors Without Borders.  They already have 3 areas set up that they were in prior to the earthquake.  One of those buildings has collapsed and the other 2 are severely damaged, however, they have set up tents and are treating people as they can get to the areas, mostly first aid medical services, since there isn't anything else available.  They have also been on the streets doing assessment of needs. 
Which is one of the things I expressed a concern about earlier.  So, keep them in mind when donating.

https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=197&hbc=1?ref=main-menu