At least 50,000 buildings destroyed and 100,000 deaths in Haiti quake
Pastor Dale Morgan
� Tens of thousands lose homes in 7.0 magnitude quake and at least
100,000 possible deaths
� UN headquarters and hospitals collapse at least 50,000 structures
destroyed all communications are off-line
* Rory Carroll and Haroon Siddique
* Wednesday 13 January 2010 11.40 GMT
Footage of the earthquake's aftermath. Contains disturbing images Link
to this video
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2010/jan/13/haiti-earthquake
Tens Of Thousands of people are feared dead after a powerful earthquake
hit Haiti, toppling buildings in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and
triggering repeated aftershocks.
A 7.0 magnitude quake � the biggest recorded in this part of the
Caribbean and the largest to hit Haiti in more than 200 years � rocked
Port-au-Prince last night, destroying a hospital and sending houses
tumbling into ravines.
"There must be at least 100,000 people dead and 50.000 buildings
destroyed" Sara Fajardo, a spokeswoman for Catholic Relief Services,
told the Los Angeles Times. International aid groups are planning a
major disaster relief effort. The international Red Cross said up to 3
million people could be affected.
The headquarters of the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti has collapsed
and a large number of UN personnel are missing, according to Alain Le
Roy, the head of UN peacekeeping. At least 11 peacekeepers were
reportedly killed � eight from China and three from Jordan.
Le Roy told reporters that UN troops, mostly from Brazil, were trying to
rescue people from the wreckage of the five-storey building but "as we
speak no one has been rescued from this main headquarters".
Gareth Owen, emergencies director at Save the Children, which has about
60 staff in Haiti, said: "We are very concerned about the high
likelihood of a significant loss of life because Port-au-Prince is a
very densely populated city and the earthquake epicentre was very close
to it."
No official estimate of the death toll has been possible but it is clear
tens of thousands of people have had their homes destroyed in
Port-au-Prince, which has a population of about 1 million, and that many
people have perished.
The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs said initial
reports suggested "a high number of casualties and widespread damage,
with an urgent need for search and rescue".
Map: Haiti earthquake locator Location of the Haiti earthquake
Dead and injured lay in the streets even as strong aftershocks rippled
through the impoverished country. Women covered in dust crawled from the
rubble wailing as others wandered through the streets holding hands.
Thousands gathered in public squares late into the night singing hymns.
There are very few emergency services to speak of and many gravely
injured people were still sitting in the streets early this morning,
pleading for doctors.
The airport is closed so supplies will probably have to be flown in to
neighbouring countries � most likely to the Dominican Republic, which
shares the same island.
"Everything started shaking, people were screaming, houses started
collapsing, it's total chaos," said Joseph Guyler Delva, a Reuters
reporter. "I saw people under the rubble and people killed. People were
screaming 'Jesus, Jesus' and running in all directions."
With telephone services erratic, much of the early communication came
from social media such as Twitter. Richard Morse, a well-known musician
who manages the famed Olafson Hotel, kept up a stream of dispatches on
the aftershocks and damage reports. Belair, a slum even in the best of
times, was said to be "a broken mess".
Raymond Joseph, Haiti's ambassador to the US, told CNN from Washington:
"I think it is really a catastrophe of major proportions."
The quake was shallow, with a depth of 6.2 miles, and struck at 4.53pm
local time with the epicentre 10 miles south-west of Port-au-Prince,
according to the US Geological Survey. It was said to have lasted around
a minute and was quickly followed by two strong aftershocks of 5.9 and
5.5 magnitude. The last major quake to hit the capital was of magnitude
6.7 in 1984.
The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said: "My heart goes out to the
people of Haiti after this devastating earthquake. At this time of
tragedy I am very concerned for the people of Haiti and also for the
many United Nations staff who serve there. I am receiving initial
reports and following developments closely."
The Pacific tsunami warning centre ruled out a major tsunami but said
coasts up to 60 miles away might be affected, prompting alerts in
neighbouring Dominican Republic, Cuba and the Bahamas.
Haiti, a former French colony that forms half of the island of
Hispaniola, is especially vulnerable to natural disasters. Most of the
capital's 3 million people live in hillside slums made of wood, tin and
cheap concrete.
"Everybody is just totally, totally freaked out and shaken," said Henry
Bahn, a US agriculture official visiting Haiti. "The sky is just grey
with dust." He was walking to his hotel room when the ground began to
shake. "I just held on and bounced across the wall. I just heard a
tremendous amount of noise and shouting and screaming in the distance."
A local employee for the US charity Food for the Poor reported seeing a
five-storey building collapse in Port-au-Prince. A colleague said there
were more houses destroyed than standing in Delmas Road, a major
thoroughfare. Taiwan's foreign ministry said its embassy was destroyed
and the ambassador was in hospital with injuries.
The quake crumbled Haiti's presidential residence, the National Palace,
but Haiti's ambassador to Mexico, Robert Manuel, said the president,
Rene Preval, and his wife had survived. He had no details. M�decins Sans
Fronti�res (MSF) said the quake seriously damaged its 60-bed trauma
centre hospital, one of the only free-of-charge surgical facilities in
Port-au-Prince.
Another hospital, in Petionville, a wealthy neighbourhood home to
diplomats and expatriates, was wrecked..
The US president, Barack Obama, issued a statement sending his "thoughts
and prayers". "We are closely monitoring the situation and we stand
ready to assist the people of Haiti."
Bill Clinton, the UN's special envoy for Haiti, said his office would do
whatever it could to help the country recover and rebuild. "My thoughts
and prayers are with the people of Haiti."
The quake was felt in the Dominican Republic, sending people running on
to the streets in the capital, Santo Domingo. Houses shook in eastern
Cuba but no major damage was reported.