EARTHQUAKE In Haiti

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EARTHQUAKE In Haiti

T JOSEPH BENZIGER

There are hundreds of islands in the Caribbean Sea, situate to the east of the USA and Central America. These Caribbean islands, known as the West Indies, stretch well into the Atlantic Ocean. The original inhabitants of these islands were known as the Caribs. They were expert navigators capable of travelling long distances in wooden canoes.

With the arrival of the Spanish here in 1492, most of the Caribs were killed and within a few years almost all the islands were conquered by the Spanish. Soon many plantations were developed here using the services of African slaves. The topical climate, long sandy beaches, natural harbors, mountains and forests make this region very attractive; this has facilitated development of tourism in the West Indies.

Some of the mountains here are volcanic in origin. For these enchanting islands, hurricanes, volcanoes, and earthquakes are not new. Every year, between May and October, powerful tropical storms play havoc as a matter of routine. One or two volcanoes frequently become active. But the tragedy of the earthquake that occurred in Haiti Island on January 12, 2010 is really devastating.

Haiti is a poor mountainous country with a population of 8.3 million. The descendants of the former slaves account for about 95% of its population.

The Earthquake of January 12, 2010

This major earthquake that struck southern Haiti knocked down buildings and power lines. Its ambassador to the United States called it a catastrophe for the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation.¹

The disaster is the latest to befall the country of about 9 million people, roughly the size of Maryland. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and among the poorest in the world.

Several eyewitnesses reported heavy damage and bodies in the streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince, where concrete-block homes line steep hillsides. There was no estimate of the dead and wounded Tuesday evening, but the U.S. State Department has been told to expect "serious loss of life," department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters in Washington.

The ambassador Raymond Alcide Joseph has said, "The only thing I can do now is pray and hope for the best.”

The US Geological Survey has said that the magnitude 7.0 quake -- the most powerful to hit Haiti in a century -- struck shortly before 5 p.m. and was centered about 10 miles (15 kilometers) southwest of Port-au-Prince. A witness has confirmed that it could be felt strongly in eastern Cuba, more than 200 miles away.

Haiti's government is backed by a U.N. peacekeeping mission established after the ouster of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004.

The headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Port-au-Prince collapsed. Haiti was already at high risk for malaria. According to an assessment made on January 19, 2010, the earthquake of the January 12 has increased the likelihood so much that the disease will spread fast.²

Fiona Place, a researcher at British risk analysis specialists Maplecroft and co-author of the Malaria Risk Index, has said, "It is highly probable that the prevalence of malaria will increase in the wake of the disaster… Overcrowding in the camps for the displaced, inadequate shelter and sanitation, overburdened medical facilities, ruptured sewer systems -- all these factors provide favorable conditions for the breeding of malaria vectors."

Enormous loss of lives and properties

On the January 19, the Haitian government said Tuesday that 75,000 people had been killed, 250,000 were injured and a million left homeless in the quake seven days ago.³

But the number of persons died has been steadily going up. On January 25th the estimate of the dead stood at 150,000 and it is feared that soon it would touch even 200,000.⁴

The International Red Cross

The 7.0-magnitude quake leveled much of the Haitian capital, and caused even more extensive damage to towns nearer the tremor's epicenter, in the Americas' worst ever recorded disaster.⁵

Haiti aid relief steps up gear as US troops pour in⁶

US troops led by Marines fanned out across the ruined Haitian capital on the January 19, as a week after a massive quake the US military ramped up a huge aid operation for desperate survivors.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sought to address concerns over the US role in supervising the effort. She has said, "The international community must ensure we are working in sync. Aid coordination has long been a challenge in Haiti, even before the earthquake… We must find better mechanisms for coordination, oversight, and accountability to ensure that aid and investments are used effectively."

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has warned that the rebuilding Haiti out of the ruins left by a massive earthquake could take at least a decade. He said, "It was not an exaggeration to say that at least 10 years of hard work awaits the world in Haiti…We must work to ensure that every resource committed, every relief worker, every vehicle, every dollar is used as effectively as possible."

Japan has said it would pledge 70 million dollars in aid to Haiti and deploy as many as 300 peacekeepers to the UN mission there.

Ministers and officials from the United Nations also discussed how to streamline delivery of food, water, drugs and medical supplies to people living in makeshift camps around the shattered capital of Port-au-Prince.
Foreign ministers and other officials from Brazil, Chile, France, Peru, Uruguay, Mexico, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Japan and Spain were also present in Montreal for the talks.

They were joined by officials from the European Union, the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive has said his nation needed help for what he called "this colossal work of reconstruction." He has added, "In 30 seconds, we lost nearly 60 percent of our gross domestic product, because all of Haiti's resources were concentrated in a small area around our seat of government. We have to decentralize. It's the only way to be efficient. It's also the only way to avoid the same problems happening in Haiti again."

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