| Razor Ramon HG | 01-12-2010 05:20 PM |
7.0 Earthquake Rocks Haiti
http://www.canada.com/news/Earthquak...727/story.html Quote:
http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465...n?size=620x400
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This image, obtained from Twitter, purportedly shows Haitians standing amid rubble on Jan. 12, 2010, in Port-au-Prince after a huge quake measuring 7.0 rocked Haiti, toppling buildings and causing widespread damage and panic.
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Canada stands ready to provide emergency assistance to people in Haiti, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Tuesday after a deadly earthquake struck the island nation, toppling buildings and knocking out communications.
"While officials are currently assessing the damage and the possibility of Canadians injured, Canada stands ready to provide any necessary assistance to the people of Haiti during this time of need."
"Canadians are profoundly concerned about the impact of today's earthquake in Haiti. On behalf of all Canadians, I wish to extend my sincere sympathies to all affected by this disaster," Harper said in a statement Tuesday evening. "Our nation is home to a large community of Canadians of Haitian decent. Our thoughts and prayers are with them as they seek word about the safety of their loved ones.
There are approximately 6,000 Canadians living in Haiti, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said during a press conference in Ottawa on Tuesday night.
Seventy-five Canadian embassy personnel — a combination of Canadians and locals — have been ordered to evacuate the building in the capital Port-au-Prince. Cannon said there have been no reports of Canadians killed or injured by the earthquake.
Cannon said the government is evaluating whether to send the Disaster Assistance Response Team, a military unit that provides emergency medical care and clean water.
Members of the Haitian community in Canada are scrambling to reach relatives after the massive earthquake, which was followed by devastating aftershocks and tsunami warnings.
"Everybody is panicking," community leader Margaret Jean-Charles said in Montreal Tuesday night, home to a large Haitian community. "Everybody is trying to call family and friends. Nobody is getting through."
The U.S. Geological Survey reported a powerful quake, initially measured at 7.0 on the Richter scale, struck 16 kilometres from the capital city of Port-au-Prince.
Two strong aftershocks, measured at 5.9 and 5.5 on the scale, followed minutes later.
People are feared dead after some buildings — including a hospital and a United Nations edifice — have collapsed.
The quake prompted a tsunami watch for parts of the Caribbean but this was later cancelled.
Canadians worried about their friends or relatives in Haiti can contact the Foreign Affairs emergency operations centre at 1-800-387-3124.
Haiti's ambassador to Canada said he has not been able to reach any of his family members in Haiti.
"Right now the best I can get is from the Internet," said Jean Saint-Vil from Ottawa. "We've heard there's quite a lot of devastation."
"Everything started shaking, people were screaming, houses started collapsing . . . it's total chaos," Reuters reporter Joseph Guyler Delva said. He said he had seen dozens of people apparently dead or injured under rubble, which is blocking roads.
Panic-stricken residents were desperately trying to dig people out from under rubble or searching for missing relatives.
Elodie Cajuste, executive director of the Haitian Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said she heard screaming from the people who live in shanty town on a hill in the city.
"The earth (up there) is not very firm . . . you could hear people screaming," said Cajuste, who was speaking on her cellphone. "I just spoke to my driver and he was up in the mountains and a couple of his drivers died.
"I'm in a very residential area and it's dark. There (are) no street lights. My neighbour's wall is completely gone."
Cajuste was exercising when the windows started to shake.
"People are still in shock," she said, as she drove to check on her mother and her two children. "Communications are not easy. Some people are stuck in their buildings."
Telephone lines are down and cellphone service is only working occasionally, said Cajuste, who added she has able to access the Internet because it is connected via satellite.
"We are not receiving any information from the local radios or anything from television absolutely nothing," she said. "(We are) completely left alone."
Many people are in the streets and walls have collapsed everywhere, she said.
The initial shaking lasted for three to four minutes.
"I am following, with great attention and concern, the emerging reports regarding the earthquake that struck Haiti with force, and which was felt elsewhere in the region," said Governor General Michaelle Jean, who was born in Haiti, in a statement Tuesday night.
"This natural disaster has hit a country with an extremely fragile infrastructure, where many buildings are already unstable, and where living conditions are often very difficult. I fear for its people. I would like all Haitians to know that they are not alone and that Canadians will respond to this emergency."
Eduardo Cabrera, a spokesman for the Red Cross in neighbouring Dominican Republic, said damage was minimal in his country, but that residents of some coastal communities were pulling back from the shore in anticipation of a possible tsunami.
"We are currently trying to evaluate completely to see if there is other damage in the country," he said.
Richard Morse, a Haitian-American musician, posted updates from inside Haiti on Twitter.
". . . another aftershock . . . people are screaming and freaking out down toward the stadium," Morse said at 7:33 p.m. "Much singing and praying in large numbers."
Isabelle Marin, disaster manager for the Pan-American Response Unit, said Red Cross units from across the globe will come to the aid of people in Haiti.
"But there is a Red Cross presence in Haiti already," Marin said from Panama City. She said she will travel to Haiti as soon as she can.
"The first priority for the Red Cross is . . . search and rescue and then providing first aid," she said. "Then we'll be evaluation the damage and needs and of course, cater to the most vulnerable and the most affected by providing emergency health (care), water, shelter, whatever is needed."
The country was also gripped by a tense political standoff in April 2008 amid riots over skyrocketing food prices.
Seventy per cent of Haiti's population lives on less than two dollars per day and half of its 8.5 million people are unemployed.
"It is with great dismay that I have learned of the situation which has taken hold of Haiti. I immediately contacted members of the Haitian community of Montreal to convey my thoughts of hope and courage,"_said Liberal MP Justin Trudeau, whose Papineau riding in northern Montreal contains a large Haitian community.
He said he has made someone available in his office to co-ordinate any local help initiatives.
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