Haiti Earthquake

this is sadly no joke, as most of you should know yesterday at 6pm local time (5pm est) there was a major earthquake here in the hispaniola island. the epicenter was near Port au Prince, the capital of haiti. the reports are scarce and very little information is comming out. most of what we know her ein the island comes from news stations like CNN however we do get local information from the border and since i am probably the nearest person to the disaster area i am going to start sharing with you guys what i can find and get. hopefuly the death toll is not as high as expected and help comes quick for a country that was already in ruins and is now completely destroyed.

12/01/210

 Spoiler

BBC news

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.

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.

There is still no official word on casualties and the extent of the devastation is only now becoming clearer with dawn breaking.

what is not on the news.

the only large hospital in Port au Prince is rumered to have collapsed and there is no more than basic fisrt aid for survivors.
No power, no phones, no running water in the city. thousands are feared dead and missing.
In the Dominican Republic no casualtis are reported, just some structure damage near the border with Haiti, i have no information about relief from the DR to haiti at the moment. i expect however that some sort of refuge camp will be set soon enough.

photos

 Spoiler

i will try to keep you guys informed, i know people that work at the United Nations here and will keep myself up to date on this and share it with those that care.

if you have a god pray for those people, any help they can get will save lifes.

I heard on the Dutch news that even the presidential palace has collapsed... Well I guess that says enough... if even those buildings didn't survive the earthquake, then the whole region is in ruins now... :o

yes, the palace collapsed, however it was after bussiness hours and most workers were already out fo there. the haitian first lady is asking for relief form the US today and we expect stuff to happen and real news to start pouring out.

yes, the palace collapsed, however it was after bussiness hours and most workers were already out fo there. the haitian first lady is asking for relief form the US today and we expect stuff to happen and real news to start pouring out.

These news are horrible and I hope the death toll is less than these news snippets suggest.

I been to Haiti on a Caribbean cruise once. It was a some what nice place with a nice market and its bad to see this crumble. =(

Haiti has always seemed to get the worst of the recent past including several tropical storms the year before llast year and strong hurricanes a few years before.

Although this was REALLY bad, if it was at another major city in another country it would have been worse because Port Au Prince barely has any high-rising buildings, and most of it's structures are down to earth and short, so, although really bad, its not as bad as it could be because shorter structures can stay more intact while taller one may collapse easier.
I don't live there though, just using my thought.

Sad Indeed.
I hope the death toll isn't high...

I hope the death toll isn't high...

From the stuff the media has heard, anywhere from 50,000-500,000. Something with a 5. Either way, that is a ton of people dead..

My Mother and I were just talking about this.
Haiti is one of those countries that is overlooked. Haiti was already a country of disorder, this situation is bleak and I hope that the US sends Aid.

Apparently I have a lot of friends who have relatives down there.. scary D:

Ouch that gotta hurt...thank god I don't live in an area dominated by volcanoes, hurricanes, earthquakes...

Ouch that gotta hurt...thank god I don't live in an area dominated by volcanoes, hurricanes, earthquakes...

I second this. This is one of those times where i love bein gin a stable region.

Bless those people.

this island is located in an area where there are lots of hurricanes, however we dont have volcanos and the last major earthquake was 200 years ago.


so, this is whats new. several planes and helicopters have been going back and forth moving people and suplies to haiti from the DR and puerto rico. I know that t least 4 planes have been going to haiti and taking suplies and bringing wounded people, same for helicopters since my brother works at the airport that is being used as the command center for the support from the DR right now. lots of journalists are there too waiting for a chance to go to haiti.

deaths are for sure in the thousands and so are the missing.

I don't understand why help is being so delayed. It's become a world-wide phenomenon by now and there's only 4 planes for emergency help?

I don't understand why help is being so delayed. It's become a world-wide phenomenon by now and there's only 4 planes for emergency help?

4 planes that the DR sent, not the world, i a know what my country is doing., actually is 4 planes from 1 airport where my brother works since thats where i get the info from. i am sure topns more are comming in from other countries and airports since my brother told me that the pilots have to do control tower themselves. they tell each other where and when they are landing so they dont crash into each other. the runway at the airport is ok but there are no control towers or ground personal so its kinda like hell. they tell each other i am going for runway 4 now dont go down and lifting off runway 2 and crap like that. at leats that what a pilot told him.

The US Navy is sending a carrier (for those who don't realize what a big deal that is, a carrier is the biggest type of ship we have in our navy, and considered the most important, they hold 3000-5000 people and are immense in size) and a few other ships down to help out where possible. Because this is such a huge operation that involves thousands of military and government (and civilians too) employees, there is obviously a lot of planning that had to be done before the ships could be sent on their way (which was done as urgently as possible). They should arrive in the next few days. Other countries are sending support as well (China, Russia, France, Cuba (lol), and quite a few others, iirc).

The US Navy is sending a carrier (for those who don't realize what a big deal that is, a carrier is the biggest type of ship we have in our navy, and considered the most important, they hold 3000-5000 people and are immense in size) and a few other ships down to help out where possible. Because this is such a huge operation that involves thousands of military and government (and civilians too) employees, there is obviously a lot of planning that had to be done before the ships could be sent on their way (which was done as urgently as possible). They should arrive in the next few days. Other countries are sending support as well (China, Russia, France, Cuba (lol), and quite a few others, iirc).

i dont see why cuba makes you laugh considering they have the best healthcare in latin america.

Just donated S$30 to the local red cross. Singapore has offered her condolences and....... a grand total of $50,000. lovely

These kind of things really are the things that wake you up to the kind of world we live in. I'm very glad I live in a stable region, the only large natural disasters we get out here are blizzards, and they will never be able to cause the kind of damage that hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, and earthquakes can do. It really makes you appreciate the privileges we have in a first country nation... I really hope these people can get out safely

I read about this in a newspaper, and it's sad to see the hurt children, the survivers sleeping among the unlucky ones ;_; and bodies poking out of buildings. I hope Haiti gets a good aid from donators

I read about this in a newspaper, and it's sad to see the hurt children, the survivers sleeping among the unlucky ones ;_; and bodies poking out of buildings. I hope Haiti gets a good aid from donators

Obama has pledged help to Haiti, and a lot of private charities also want to help.

I just hope this will make some people out there see that Americans are not all scum.