Friday, January 15, 2010

HAITI NOW


Disaster and emergency experts warn that earthquake-ravaged Haiti is facing fresh tragedy as time becomes ever more crucial to rescue efforts.
They say most people killed in an earthquake die within the first 72 hours.

Rescue efforts in Haiti have been chaotic, hampered by a lack of resources and infrastructure, and emergency workers face a race against the clock to save those feared still trapped under rubble and to keep the injured and hungry alive.
Tens of thousands of people are feared dead and millions have been affected by the 7.0-magnitude quake that struck the impoverished Caribbean nation late Tuesday afternoon.
Aid has trickled into the battered capital, Port-au-Prince, where impassable roads, damaged docks and clogged airstrips slowed the arrival of critically needed assistance.
"We're working feverishly and aggressively to support and provide life-sustaining capability to the citizens of Haiti," Air Force Gen. Douglas Fraser told reporters. "They've suffered a great deal."
On Friday morning, the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson is to arrive in Haiti, carrying 19 helicopters and 30 pallets of relief goods, he said. The carrier will help relief workers get around Haiti's ruined and debris-choked roads "to get good where they need to be," Fraser said.
Within four days, 700 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne will be in the quake zone. By next Tuesday, three more ships carrying 2,200 Marines and heavy equipment will join them. By Saturday, about 5,000 to 6,000 men and women dedicated to supporting the relief effort will be in Haiti.

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