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As most of you have heard by now, a 7.0 earthquake struck Port-au-Prince, Haiti and has devastated the city. Presently, 140,000 are estimated to be dead. That number may increase over the weekend, as of Friday night at just before 5 p.m. 72 hours had passed. While there is still hope for those trapped, 72 hours is the critical point where people need to be rescued and the rest need to get food, water, medical care and temporary shelter to stay alive.
Many supplies have reached the airport. Now that transport and helicopters are on scene, wide distribution of supplies will be possible as early as overnight tonight. People should begin to see some major relief first thing this morning.
Dead bodies that litter the streets need to be removed much more rapidly, even though that may mean burial in mass graves. Those picking up bodies are now photographing them for later identification and mass graves are beginning to be used. Haiti is a tropical island nation and it is around 80 degrees there. We are at the point where those decaying bodies will begin to cause disease in those who are still alive. Many are dehydrated, hungry and injured. Their immune systems are not strong enough to fight off any illness. We have gotten this far, and we don’t want to begin losing more people to widespread outbreaks of disease.
How can you help?
- Don’t go to Haiti unless you’re a trained worker with one of the response organizations
- Send money to reputable relief organizations
- You can text your donations to these organizations You can text multiple times to as many as you want. The charges will be added to your mobile phone bill.
- Volunteer locally at your Red Cross office, Salvation Army office or other relief organization that is sending trained volunteers and staff. Trained people are needed for ground operations. You may be able to free them up to go by helping here at home.
- Help the families of our deployed military personnel whether they are working in Haiti or deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. These families need your hands and your hearts. Check with local military stations and churches to find families to help. They need help with kids, babysitters, a home-cooked meal delivered to their house, someone to get something in the house fixed, help with kids’ homework, etc.
I sent my donation Tuesday night by text message. It’s fast and easy. Please give what you can. Thank you.
People carry an injured person after an earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010. The largest earthquake ever recorded in the area rocked Haiti on Tuesday. The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 and was centered about 10 miles (15 kilometers) west of Port-au-Prince. (AP Photo/Radio Tele Ginen)
8:54 p.m. ET, 1/12/10
Earthquake 2010, Haiti, Port-au-Prince
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:22 pm
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