Administrator DKT27 Posted January 14, 2010 Administrator Share Posted January 14, 2010 Haiti devastated by massive earthquakeA 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. 'Thoughts and prayers'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 were in the building. The head of the UN mission in Haiti, Hedi Annabi, was reported to have been inside and is unaccounted for. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he was believed to be dead. The UN's stabilisation mission plays a vital role in ensuring security in Haiti. Raymond Joseph, Haiti's ambassador to the US, said the presidential palace, the tax office, the ministry of commerce and the foreign ministry had all been damaged, but the airport was intact. He and Haiti's ambassador to Mexico, Robert Manuel, both said that President Rene Preval and his wife had survived the quake. The World Bank said its local offices were destroyed but most of the staff were accounted for, Reuters reported. US President Barack Obama said his "thoughts and prayers" were with the people of Haiti and that he expected "an aggressive, coordinated [aid] effort by the US government". Venezuela says it will send a 50-strong "humanitarian assistance team". The Red Cross is dispatching a relief team from Geneva and the UN's World Food Programme is flying in two planes with emergency food aid. The Inter-American Development Bank said it was immediately approving a $200,000 grant for emergency aid. The UK said it was mobilising help and was "ready to provide whatever humanitarian assistance may be required". Canada, Australia, France and a number of Latin American nations have also said they are mobilising their aid response. Pope Benedict XVI has called for a generous response to the "tragic situation" in Haiti. 'Shouting and screaming'In the minutes after the quake, Henry Bahn, a visiting official from the US Department of Agriculture, said he had seen houses which had tumbled into a ravine. "Everybody is just totally, totally freaked out and shaken," said Mr Bahn, who described the sky as "just grey with dust". He said he had been walking to his hotel room when the ground began to shake. "I just held on and bounced across the wall," he said. "I just heard a tremendous amount of noise and shouting and screaming in the distance." Reports on the Twitter message site, which cannot yet be verified by the BBC, expressed the chaos in the wake of the quake. Tweets from troylivesay spoke of the worst damage being in the Carrefour district, where "many two and three storey buildings did not make it". In the immediate aftermath of the quake, a tsunami watch was put out for Haiti, Cuba and the Bahamas, but this was later lifted. BBC - Full Original Article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizarre™ Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 Confirmed it in the news last night. It was a horrible sight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bashar Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 it's really sad , May god be with them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marshall39 Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 Always the poorest countries hitten by earthquakes,tsunamies... :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HX1 Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 Well that happens to be one of the reasons the countries are so poor.. and the people live off of the land where they can. Industry and Corporations do not want to build were you have earthquakes and tsunami's.. They want return on an investment.. Not a complete loss of it over and over by things that can't truly be insured against without incurring HUGE costs.. So basically when something like this happens.. you can always almost be reassured that it will happen to those whom it is harder for... It would take a valuable resource to fund enough growth to build n the land and protect it somewhat from nature.. but in this effect your ruin its natural existence.. Alot more in just a few words.. maybe I am just one that thinks this way but.. what I see.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator DKT27 Posted January 14, 2010 Author Administrator Share Posted January 14, 2010 I'll pray for them. :beg:------------------------------------------------------------------------Haiti: How to help International charities are appealing for donations to help Haiti. Here are some of the ways you can help:In the UK: British Red Cross Unicef UK Christian Aid Medecins Sans Frontieres Oxfam Save the Children Plan International CAFOD Mercy Corps Tearfund International Rescue Committee Action Against Hunger ActionAid In the US: American Red Cross Unicef USA Operation Blessing International The Global Orphan Project International Rescue Committee Partners In Health Architecture for Humanity These organisations also have ways to donate: International Red Cross International Medical Corps World Food Programme Concern Worldwide ActionAid International Relief and Development International Organization for MigrationSource - BBC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toshiro Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 Google is joining the action..http://www.google.com/relief/haitiearthquake/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator DKT27 Posted January 14, 2010 Author Administrator Share Posted January 14, 2010 India announces $1 mn for HaitiIndia on Thursday announced a cash assistance of $1 million to earthquake-devastated Haiti for immediate and emergency relief purposes. "India is deeply saddened at the death and destruction caused by the earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010. Government has also decided to give $1 million in cash to Haiti for immediate and emergency relief purposes," an external affairs ministry statement said here. It said "communications with Haiti are currently difficult. However, it has been ascertained that all 140 personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) deployed with the United Nations are safe. So are all civil police officers deployed with the United Nations Mission in Haiti." The ministry was in contact with the Indian Embassy in Havana, which is concurrently accredited to Haiti, to ascertain the welfare of other Indian nationals who are presently in Haiti, it said. More than 100,000 people were feared dead in Haiti after an earthquake razed homes, hotels, and hospitals, leaving the capital in ruins and bodies strewn in the streets.Source - Headlines Today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Lite Posted January 14, 2010 Administrator Share Posted January 14, 2010 Really sad :(Tech companies pitch in for Haiti reliefThe tech industry is opening up its wallets and its Web sites to help with earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. The moves come in the wake of the massive 7.0 earthquake that left much of Haiti's capital in ruins and millions in the already impoverished country without access to food, clean water, housing, and sanitation. Google has pledged $1 million and set up a special page for donations and added updated satellite imagery of the region to Google Maps. Microsoft has said it will give up to $1.25 million in cash and in-kind donations, as well as match employee contributions as part of its standard program that matches up to $12,000 per worker in donations each year. Apple has set up a donation mechanism within iTunes, while a campaign by the Red Cross and the cellular industry to raise money via text message donations has pulled in more than $4 million, according to a Verizon Wireless spokesman. Those who wish to donate can text "Haiti" to 90999 and $10 will be added to their cell phone bill. All the money will go to the Red Cross, although MSNBC quoted a Sprint representative as saying its customers may be charged for the text message. Other major carriers told the site that customers won't be charged for the donation text. Verizon's foundation is also donating $100,000 and matching employee donations of up to $1,000 per worker.Source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator DKT27 Posted January 15, 2010 Author Administrator Share Posted January 15, 2010 Charity Twenty20 Cricket match planned for Haiti victims Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana are to play each other in a fund-raising charity Twenty20 match to aid victims of the catastrophic earthquake which struck Haiti three days ago. The match is to be held on 20 January at the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. "Haiti's pain and cry for assistance cannot be over-emphasized," said Dinanath Ramnarine, president of WIPA. "It is a catastrophe of such magnitude that should stir the conscience of every individual--locally, regionally and internationally--to make a herculean effort to contribute tangibly towards the alleviation of the problems faced by this unfortunate and one of the poorest, if not the poorest, country in the world. "The disaster in Haiti took place only three days ago. Our exercise started just this morning. You could well appreciate the challenges we have been facing in organizing this game in the middle of the regional tournament and in securing sponsorship and dealing with the logistics." The two teams to be involved in the charity match are currently playing each other in a historic first-class four-day game at the Sir Vivian Richards Ground in Antigua. The game is the first to be played at night, under lights, using a pink ball. While the players may have been focussed on coming to terms with these innovations, their minds will also have been on the unfolding crisis in Haiti. "The staging of this game for a noble cause enables players to appreciate the pros and cons of their own circumstances over which they sometimes have little control," said Azim Bassarath, president of the Trinidad and Tobago cricket board. "It brings them into focus with reality. It inculcates in them a certain humility and the need to be selfless. It shows them how important it is, as a team, to work together to deal with challenges and to overcome despair and defeat." "Like a cricket game, in life there are also the ebb and flow. Let us all acknowledge that the test of character is when the chips are down. It is our hope that our effort for the Haiti cause would motivate the people of that unfortunate country to rise like the Phoenix and return to normalcy after its cataclysmic experience." The International Red Cross estimates that about three million people were affected by the earthquake, which devastated the capital Port-au-Prince and caused an estimated 45,000-50,000 deaths. Source - Cricinfo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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