Haiti devastated by massive earthquake
BBC news Wednesday, 13 January 2010
A massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake has struck the Caribbean nation of Haiti.
The extent of the devastation is still unclear but there are fears thousands of people may have died.
Haiti's worst quake in two centuries hit south of the capital Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, wrecking the presidential palace, UN HQ and other buildings.
A "large number" of UN personnel were reported missing by the organisation. Many people have spent the night outside amid fears of more aftershocks.
The Red Cross says up to three million people have been affected.
Describing the earthquake as a "catastrophe", Haiti's envoy to the US said the cost of the damage could run into billions.
A number of nations, including the US, UK and Venezuela, are gearing up to send aid.
The quake, which struck about 15km (10 miles) south-west of Port-au-Prince, was quickly followed by two strong aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 magnitude.
The tremor hit at 1653 (2153 GMT) on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said. Phone lines to the country failed shortly afterwards.
There is still no official word on casualties and the extent of the devastation is only now becoming clearer with dawn breaking.
China has already indicated in reports in state media that eight of its peacekeepers are buried and feared dead, with another 10 unaccounted for.
The AFP news agency quoted the Jordanian army as saying three of its peacekeepers had been killed and 21 wounded.
The Brazilian army said four of its peacekeepers were killed and a large number were missing.
A French official told AFP about 200 people were missing in the collapsed Hotel Montana, which is popular with tourists.
There have also been some reports of looting overnight.
Rachmani Domersant, an operations manager with the Food for the Poor charity, told Reuters that overnight the capital was in total darkness.
"You have thousands of people sitting in the streets with nowhere to go. There are people running, crying, screaming.
"People are trying to dig victims out with flashlights. I think hundreds of casualties would be a serious understatement."
Earlier, bodies white with dust could be seen piled on the back of a pick-up truck as vehicles tried to ferry the injured to hospital.
Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and has suffered a number of recent disasters, including four hurricanes and storms in 2008 that killed hundreds.
These news are almost 6 days old. The extenct of this disaster is now getting clearer. With each day passed, the numbers of deaths caused by earthquake are increasing. On radio today I heard: “70 000. More are expectedâ€Â. What I was surprised of is that nobody mentioned about the disaster here at PA! As a community who is about modding games that are settled around Caribbean, WE SHOULD CARE! They need water, food, medicaments, medical treatment, shelter.
Therefore I call for every member here on PA! to help support the Haitian people by donating to any of these organizations at their sites:
http://www.supportun...OALpE&b=1023561 Unicef;
http://www.icrc.org/eng International Commitee of Red Cross;
https://www.wfp.org/donate/haiti World Food Programme;
http://www.savethechildren.org Save The Children;
http://worldrelief.o...e.aspx?pid=2364 World Relief;
http://www.worldvision.org World Vision;
and any other thrustworthy sites.
You can also donate to special foundations (created by your authorities) at your own country.
Mété Main (In Haiti this would mean “lend a handâ€Â)
Thank you for your support
Iron Roger Flint
BBC news Wednesday, 13 January 2010
A massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake has struck the Caribbean nation of Haiti.
The extent of the devastation is still unclear but there are fears thousands of people may have died.
Haiti's worst quake in two centuries hit south of the capital Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, wrecking the presidential palace, UN HQ and other buildings.
A "large number" of UN personnel were reported missing by the organisation. Many people have spent the night outside amid fears of more aftershocks.
The Red Cross says up to three million people have been affected.
Describing the earthquake as a "catastrophe", Haiti's envoy to the US said the cost of the damage could run into billions.
A number of nations, including the US, UK and Venezuela, are gearing up to send aid.
The quake, which struck about 15km (10 miles) south-west of Port-au-Prince, was quickly followed by two strong aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 magnitude.
The tremor hit at 1653 (2153 GMT) on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said. Phone lines to the country failed shortly afterwards.
There is still no official word on casualties and the extent of the devastation is only now becoming clearer with dawn breaking.
China has already indicated in reports in state media that eight of its peacekeepers are buried and feared dead, with another 10 unaccounted for.
The AFP news agency quoted the Jordanian army as saying three of its peacekeepers had been killed and 21 wounded.
The Brazilian army said four of its peacekeepers were killed and a large number were missing.
A French official told AFP about 200 people were missing in the collapsed Hotel Montana, which is popular with tourists.
There have also been some reports of looting overnight.
Rachmani Domersant, an operations manager with the Food for the Poor charity, told Reuters that overnight the capital was in total darkness.
"You have thousands of people sitting in the streets with nowhere to go. There are people running, crying, screaming.
"People are trying to dig victims out with flashlights. I think hundreds of casualties would be a serious understatement."
Earlier, bodies white with dust could be seen piled on the back of a pick-up truck as vehicles tried to ferry the injured to hospital.
Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and has suffered a number of recent disasters, including four hurricanes and storms in 2008 that killed hundreds.
These news are almost 6 days old. The extenct of this disaster is now getting clearer. With each day passed, the numbers of deaths caused by earthquake are increasing. On radio today I heard: “70 000. More are expectedâ€Â. What I was surprised of is that nobody mentioned about the disaster here at PA! As a community who is about modding games that are settled around Caribbean, WE SHOULD CARE! They need water, food, medicaments, medical treatment, shelter.
Therefore I call for every member here on PA! to help support the Haitian people by donating to any of these organizations at their sites:
http://www.supportun...OALpE&b=1023561 Unicef;
http://www.icrc.org/eng International Commitee of Red Cross;
https://www.wfp.org/donate/haiti World Food Programme;
http://www.savethechildren.org Save The Children;
http://worldrelief.o...e.aspx?pid=2364 World Relief;
http://www.worldvision.org World Vision;
and any other thrustworthy sites.
You can also donate to special foundations (created by your authorities) at your own country.
Mété Main (In Haiti this would mean “lend a handâ€Â)
Thank you for your support
Iron Roger Flint
