Haiti

[JohnR]

Major concerns in Haiti with death tolls possible exceeding 50,000

Here is a site offering a lot of interesting information Maritime/Navy/CoastGuard/Marine in response to the disaster happening there.

A lot of EXCELLENT Soft Power at work:

Information Dissemination: All Things Maritime And Haiti

Well worth reading to get smarter on the crisis

Half the Haitian coast guard personnel stationed at the port were killed by the earthquake.

Coast Guard personnel observed multiple oil and fuel spills as well as possible sewage spills in the area of the port, about one to one and a half miles from the coast. They also reported seeing multiple small fires along the shoreline and significant damage to or destruction of infrastructure at the port.

Damage to port infrastructure is reported to include the port's container crane and other cargo cranes. Some of the cranes are reported to be completely submerged and others appear damaged but the extent of the damage cannot yet be fully determined.

Hospitals are said to have been devastated and overwhelmed by the injured. One clinic director sent out an e-mail plea after the quake: "Port-au-Prince is devastated, lot of deaths. SOS. SOS."

Joseph said Haiti was most in need of a hospital ship stationed in Haitian waters, as well as supplies to help keep residents safe and warm.

[Tagger]

Been watching it . Horrible . My neighbors are from there .. Nice people. I gotta talk to them ..

[Backbeach Jake]

If you can, donate a couple of bucks. That place is in ruins and people are suffering. Suffering even worse that before, it's far from being a wealthy country. They had nothing before , now , less. So many dead and wounded. There are many ways to donate.

[justplugit]

Yes Fred, and prolly the best way to donate to get it in the right
hands is through the Red Cross, or your church or synagogue.

[BigFish]

Angie and I texted (actually Angie because you will never see me texting) $20.00 to help! What a tragedy!

[JohnR]

Originally Posted by justplugit

Yes Fred, and prolly the best way to donate to get it in the right
hands is through the Red Cross, or your church or synagogue.

I was working for a religious interfaith organization yesterday doing computer repairs. It was interesting (and comforting in a way) seeing the gears in motion as many different religious leaders from different faiths and denominations , Chistian, Jewish, etc were pulling relief resources together. All pulling the oar together.

[PaulS]

I think Americares sends a higher % of donations.

AmeriCares Disaster Relief and Humanitarian Aid Organization

Tragic situation in a country that had nothing going for it to begin with.

[Goose]

Not that we should need reminding but don't forget to keep those people in our prayers.

[mekcotuit]

Haiti is surely a Job among nations. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere: half its population lives on less than a dollar a day. With 98 percent of its forests felled and burned for firewood, Haiti is uniquely vulnerable to flooding from hurricanes. In 2008 four storms in as many weeks left a million homeless. Haiti has an infant-mortality rate worse than that of many African nations, and its people are plagued by disease: diarrhea, hepatitis, typhoid fever, dengue fever, malaria, and leptospirosis are rampant there. This litany doesn't even touch on Haiti's disastrous political history, most notably the reign of François (Papa Doc) Duvalier, who assassinated and tortured more than 30,000 in the 1960s. - Newsweek

Keep them in your prayers and donate if you can. All I can think of when I see the horrible news from there is thank god it is not cold.