Wednesday, January 13, 2010
A powerful 7.0 earthquake struck the small, impoverished island nation of Haiti on Tuesday, causing massive destruction to the capital city of Port-au-Prince, killing thousands and leaving the country without adequate hospitals to care for injured.
In what was described as the worst earthquake to hit Haiti in 200 years, Port-au-Prince — a sprawling city of 2 million, reports emerged of extensive destruction, homes and buildings reduced to ruin, trapping residents under debris, seriously injuring victims, and forcing thousands to sleep on the streets.
Tsunami alerts were issued for Cuba, the Bahamas and much of the Caribbean, and numerous aftershocks were reported. The tsunami alerts have since been lifted.
The quake measured a magnitude of 7.0 and was centered about 10 miles west of Port-au-Prince. It struck about 4:53 p.m., hitting one of the city’s most densely populated residential areas.
Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere with a population of about 9 million. It shares a border with the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton described the disaster as catastrophic.
President Barack Obama said Tuesday that his “thoughts and prayers” were with the people of Haiti. “We are closely monitoring the situation and we stand ready to assist the people of Haiti,” Obama said in a statement. The Obama administration said that the State Department, USAID and the U.S. military were working to coordinate an assessment of the situation and any possible assistance.
How to help. The American Red Cross is accepting donations to provide food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support. OperationUSA is appealing for donations from the public and corporations to pay for bulk health care materials, water purification supplies and food supplements.
From the Left 
How ironic? The poorest nation in the western hemisphere gets struck by a monster earthquake of this magnitude?
My thoughts go out to the Haitian people and we’ve made a generous donation to the International Red Cross.
The media reports say many hospitals were not built to code and when the quake hit, the collapsed. The injured are being triaged on the ground in long rows with IV drips sometimes a block in length. The scene in Port au Prince is truly horrific.
The images from BBC America show a city completely destroyed by this earthquake.
Haiti is so poor with a per capita income of $500 per person a year. I don’t see how they can rebuild if they don’t receive enormous international assistance.
To be honest, I didn’t know this part of the world even had earthquakes before this. It’s so sad to see.
The MSM says 80% of Haiti is Roman Catholic.
I trust the Vatican will be sending much needed help in the form of money and relief workers to aid these poor souls who have less than anyone in this part of the world.
After all, poor, developing nations are the 2010 focus of the Roman Catholic church. So start wiring writing checks Pope Rat.
Isn’t the Vatican bank account empty? They paid out more than $1 billion to settle priest pedophile claims to victims. That’s a lot of coin.
Did you catch Andrea Mitchell’s coverage of the Haitian earthquake?
Said Mrs. Greenspan:
“Thousands of Haitians were killed when the 7.0 quake struck the capital of Port-au-Prince. But, the real tragedy was the death of a U.N. worker.”
Guess the U.N. worker was white.
Great, concise post. I got home late tonight and the TV footage is truly heart wrenching. Haiti is so poor and the people have suffered so much over the years. My heart goes out to them.
More than 100,000 dead.
So tragic. I send $200 to a relief agency. I wish I could afford more.