50,000 feared dead in Haiti quake

posted on: Jan 15 2010 16:14 by The Reporter. Viewed 478 times.


In one of the worst catastrophes to hit Haiti, the earthquake in the capital city of Port-au-Prince caused devastation to a country already crippled by poverty. The epicenter of the major 7 magnitude quake was located inland, only 10 miles from Port-au-Prince and was very shallow at a depth of only 6.2 miles.

The Haitian Red Cross said it believed 45,000 to 50,000 people had died and 3 million more -- one third of Haiti’s population -- were hurt or left homeless.

The quake flattened buildings across entire hillsides and many people were still trapped alive in the rubble after two days, with little sign of organized rescue efforts. About 1,500 corpses were piled up outside the main hospital and bodies littered many streets.

The Haitian Red Cross had run out of body bags and the International Committee of the Red Cross was sending more. Brazil, whose troops make up part of the UN peacekeeping force, proposed setting up an emergency cemetery and the United States sent mortuary teams.

Haitians clawed at chunks of concrete with bare hands and sledgehammers, trying to free those buried alive.

The UN said at least 36 members of its 9,000-strong peacekeeping mission had been killed and scores were still missing. Brazil said 14 of its soldiers were among the dead.
Planes full of supplies arrived at the Port-au-Prince airport faster than ground crews could unload them and aviation authorities restricted flights from U.S. airspace for fear planes would run out of fuel while waiting to land.

The influx of aid had yet to reach shell-shocked Haitians who wandered the broken streets of Port-au-Prince, searching desperately for water, food and medical help.

“Money is worth nothing right now, water is the currency,” one foreign aid-worker told reporters.
“Everything started shaking, people were screaming, houses started collapsing ... it’s total chaos,” Joseph Guyler Delva, a reporter said. “I saw people under the rubble, and people killed,” he added.
Haiti TV later reported that the presidential palace had been destroyed by the earthquake. Panic-stricken residents filled the streets desperately trying to dig people from rubble or seeking missing relatives as dark fell shortly after the quake.

On the North Coast of the Dominican Republic, some residents report they felt the tremors from the quake some many hundreds of miles away, although no damage was reported. As news of the quake hit the North Coast, many Haitians living in Sosua and other towns desperately tried to contact relatives and friends back in Haiti.

Haiti’s Port-au-Prince airport, critical for the quick delivery of supplies and aid, was an uncontrolled “mess” when the U.S. Air Force arrived Wednesday night to rehabilitate the facility, according to the commander of one of the Air Force’s elite special operations units sent to Haiti.
The United States was sending 3,500 soldiers, 300 medical personnel, several ships and a contingent of Marines. Canadian military ships with 500 personnel were on the way and a disaster aid team had already arrived.

“To the people of Haiti, we say clearly and with conviction, you will not be forsaken. You will not be forgotten. In this, your hour of greatest need, America stands with you. The world stands with you,” U.S. President Barack Obama said.

Other countries from Europe and around the world were quick to extend support to Haiti with many sending planes the next day, filled with supplies, medicines and helpers.

Aid distribution was hampered because roads were blocked by rubble and smashed cars, normal communications were cut off, and relief agencies’ offices were damaged and their staff dead or missing.

U.N. peacekeepers seemed overwhelmed by the enormity of the recovery task ahead.
“We just don’t know what to do,” a Chilean peacekeeper said. “You can see how terrible the damage is. We have not been able to get into all the areas.”

Many hospitals were too badly damaged to use, and doctors struggled to treat crushed limbs, head wounds and broken bones at makeshift facilities where medical supplies were scarce.

The Dominican Republic was the first country able to provide aid to Haiti due to its close proximity and road links. The DR government sent 10 mobile kitchens into Haiti, each one with the capacity to provide 50,000 food rations. They also sent 39 truckloads of food, 46 doctors, among them 10 trauma specialists from the Dario Contreras Hospital in Santo Domingo, eight mobile clinics, eight ambulances and tons of water, vaccines and other pharmaceuticals, said official government sources.

The Dominican Presidency also announced that 100 units of heavy construction equipment had been sent to Haiti to help clear the rubble. Felix Bautista, of the Office for the Supervision of Public Works, said that they would be used to start the removal of debris.

The Dominican Migration Department ordered a halt to the repatriations of illegal Haitians from the DR. At the same time, the department announced the strengthening of border crossings to prevent a mass influx of illegal Haitians across the border; concerns were also muted that prisoners escaped from the prison in Port-au-Prince might seek to enter the DR illegally.

The director of the Dominican Telecommunications Institute (Indotel), Jose Rafael Vargas said that work was underway with telephone companies in Haiti to restore telephone services between Haiti and the DR. “From Indotel we are coordinating efforts to restore communication with Haiti and within Haiti,” said Vargas, as reported in Listin Diario. He said that telecom infrastructure in the DR did not suffer any significant damage. Vargas said that a private plane carrying 22 Viva technicians flew to Haiti to restore the company’s service in Haiti. He said that Orange was also working to restore the three links it has in Haiti. “The GSM network suffered serious breakdowns in Haiti,” he said. He added that Orange had sent mobile antennas from the DR to restore communications.

Over 100 Canadians in Port-au-Prince were flown to a luxury resort in the Dominican Republic late Wednesday night by the Canadian Consular. Most were Canadians of Haitian descent vacationing for the holidays. Many had tickets booked on Wednesday’s cancelled Air Transat flight to Montreal and only made their way to the embassy after finding out the airport was closed.

Dominican Armed Forces Minister Major General Pedro Rafael Pena Antonio went to Haiti to personally oversee evacuation efforts by the Dominican military. According to reports, around 100 people were evacuated on Wednesday. Private airplanes from the Dominican Republic also traveled to Haiti to help with evacuations.

Hundreds of injured Haitians and foreigners were flown to Dominican hospitals, primarily the HOMS in Santiago and the Plaza de la Salud/Cedimat in Santo Domingo.

The Diario Libre newspaper reported that the victims being treated at Santiago’s Metropolitan Hospital include Haitian senate president Kelly Bastien and Citibank president Gladys Coupet. The Taiwanese ambassador in Haiti, Hsu Mien-sheng and the wife of former Haitian ambassador in the DR, Guy Alexandre, Evelyne Magron, are being treated at Cedimat, as well as ten Minustah peacekeepers. Dr. Maximo Rodriguez of Cedimat said they would be accepting patients until their 66 beds are filled.
Dominican President Leonel Fernandez decreed Friday and Saturday “Days of National Mourning” for the loss of the thousands of human lives in Haiti.

According to the Decree 29-10, “the Dominican people are profoundly disturbed because of this great tragedy, and therefore it is considered to be a moral obligation to demonstrate their sorrow and solidarity with the Haitian people.”

The decree ordered all flags to be flown at half mast at all government buildings at the national, provincial and municipal levels and all official activities of a festive nature suspended.
Centuries of animosity between Haiti and the Dominican Republic appeared to be dissolve as the Dominican government and people sought to assist the survivors in Haiti.

25 related news articles

President’s wife visits Haiti: Feb 25 2010

Haiti’s debris - 1,000 trucks for 1,000 days to move it: Feb 24 2010

No health risk to Dominican tourists after Haiti tragedy : Feb 19 2010

Haiti’s next crisis: Feb 16 2010

Government has distributed more than 1.9 million meals cooked in Haiti : Feb 10 2010

Man rescued from Haiti rubble: Feb 9 2010

US Treasury calls for full cancellation of Haiti debt: Feb 8 2010

I would give away my son again, says father of abducted child: Feb 8 2010

Haiti official Death toll now 212,000, 2 million living on the streets: Feb 6 2010

Two Americans die in helicopter crash: Feb 6 2010

G-7 urged to cancel Haiti debt: Feb 6 2010

200,000 dead in Haiti; change needed in government structure : Feb 3 2010

Call for survey of school buildings to assess earthquake vulnerability: Feb 3 2010

Haitian women in new danger from rapists warning: Feb 2 2010

Summit for the Reconstruction of Haiti to be held in the Dominican Republic on April 14: Jan 29 2010

A call to North Coast residents: how you can help: Jan 28 2010

Haiti Should Merge With the Dominican Republic: Jan 28 2010

Local Haiti aid update: Jan 24 2010

Ten thousand pregnant women in Port-au-Prince require medical attention: Jan 22 2010

Haiti hit again by 6.1 earthquake: Jan 21 2010

Plane carrying Haitian orphans to arrive in the Netherlands: Jan 21 2010

Aid is getting through to Haiti earthquake victims: Jan 19 2010

Support the relief work in Haiti: Jan 13 2010

A Birthday Wish - Haiti Earthquake: Jan 13 2010

Earthquake 'destroys presidential palace' in Haiti: Jan 12 2010