Port au Prince In Rubble
The BBC is reporting hundreds, but it is probably more accurate to think in terms of thousands killed and injured.
The earthquake was shallow and close to the city, and pictures from the scene seem to indicate that almost everything two stories and above was flattened or severely damaged, including hospitals and government buildings. It was the worst tremor in two centuries.
Jill mentioned Direct Relief International and I have seen good work by Doctors Without Borders around the world.
The UN mission in the country has apparently lost its headquarters and an unknown number of people who had the primary responsibility for security in the nation.
Haiti has been hammered in the last few years with rains from tropical storm, and now this. They were already on the bottom of the economic ladder in the hemisphere, and this is one more obstacle.
If you can afford it, give through the organization you trust to do the right thing with the money. If that means the Red Cross, wait until they establish a specific fund for Haiti. I’m not criticizing the Red Cross, it is just the way their system works that you should be aware of before giving, if you want the money directed to a specific event.
2 comments
Just heartbreaking…heartbreaking. We Krispyfornians know the familiar shake, rattle & rolls all too well…but not at that level.
Someone needs to arrange for Pat Robertson to s.t.f.u. with this Haiti made a pact with the Devil c**p.
.-= last blog ..Direct Relief International (here in Santa Barbara) =-.
I don’t know, Jill, there are a lot of evangelical “missionaries” trapped by the earthquake, CNN and the Miami Herald have both mentioned them. It could be that Ol’ Pat is just acknowledging his real sponsor.
The big thing that Christians forget when making such claims is that “the Devil” is a Judeo-Christian concept, i.e. you have to be a Christian to believe in “the Devil”.
Port au Prince and the island of Hispaniola were formed by the fault that just snapped. If you have mountains, you have fault lines, and earthquakes. The plates in the Caribbean have seen a lot of activity in the last few months. Nothing big, but a lot of small quakes in the Antilles, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, etc.
Hopefully, a new city will be built on the ruins of Port au Prince that will be stronger and better than what was destroyed. Bill Clinton will probably be leading the effort, so there is real hope that something will get done.