Earthquake ravages Port Au Prince Haiti

[HOOT]

Telus hates Haitians!

[Bobblehead]

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"They were under the heel of the French, you know Napoleon the third and whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said 'We will serve you if you will get us free from the prince.' True story. And so the devil said, 'Ok it’s a deal.' And they kicked the French out. The Haitians revolted and got something themselves free. But ever since they have been cursed by one thing after another," Robertson said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/01...y6092717.shtml

[Knut]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/...elief-aid.html

Here is a list of organizations that are taking donations. It also says what they will be working on, as well as, how to donate.

" Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) - are setting up clinics to replace damaged medical facilities in Haiti. The group is also working to bring more teams into the country. " ----> The doctors without borders building was ruined in Haiti, and members of the staff are missing. It think this is a good one to get up and running again. They are going to need alot of Medical Help.

[HOOT]

OMG they just showed some video from a small clinic in Hiati and it was horrible! There was a woman with a broken leg who has been sitting on the ground since last night, there were small (dead) children covered with blankets just laying in the hallways. Doctors are saying there is not enough medicine to treat everyone and soon they will run out of gas for the generators in the hospitals.

Most people are staying outside on the streets because the after shocks keep coming people don't want to be trapped in their homes. No where safe for anyone to sleep at night.

[Azure]

I read somewhere that Haiti was the most war-torn country in the world. Or most violent?

Don't really remember.

But that, and now this? Crazy.

[Azure]

Any word if the donation thing works with Telus?

[AvsJerk]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/01...y6092717.shtml

Well, they did get rid of the French...so it's not like they got totally screwed on that deal.

/sorry, not the time nor the place

[T@T]

Extremely tragic and very sad, I am more than willing to stop my normal life and join a team to go down and help these people anyway I can. If anyone needs my help PM me with the details.

Looking at this chart it looks like it wasn't just the stength of the quake but how long it lasted.

[transplant99]

Here is a list of things commonly needed after a natural disaster like this...I know i work with a group down here that is collecting stuff and will be in there tomorrow helping out... im sure there is a similar group in Calgary and all locales that will be doing the same.

Rice and beans
Bottled water
Non perishable foods
Baby formula/foods
Convenience type foods
Paper goods
Camping supplies
Flashlights and batteries
Shovels
Cooking oil
First aid supplies
Energy drinks
Diapers/wipes
Tarps/plastic sheeting
Camping supplies
Picnic supplies
Gloves
Rope

[krazycanuck]

Imagine a whole city just being flattened like that. It's very hard to even think about and comprehend. How does a country with so little money already even attempt to cleanup and rebuild? Do they ever rebuild?

[T@T]

I think now the biggest fear will be from disease, people will be without homes and unsanitary conditions will be tough to cope with. The incredible amount of displaced people will cause a huge breakdown in healthcare, there will be major malnutrition and infections.

Add in the criminal activity that was already very bad in that country where everyone seemed to have a gun and murder was a common hourly occurrence you have a very bad mixture for an even bigger disaster.

The whole world needs to help, this is a cause for humanity itself.

[Joborule]

Really really tragic event. Those pictures really paint it. The loss of life and damage cost is just unbelievable. Really worried for them.

[killer_carlson]

times like this are when the Salvation Army really comes through. They are already on the ground - were before the earthquake and will be there for decades after.

500K dead is terrifying.

[krazycanuck]

after watching CNN reports all night and basically getting the crap scared out of me with what people there are going through, looked into donating money.

Super easy to do through the Red Cross. https://www.paypaq.com/redcross/en/c...ssword=support

Using that link earmarks the money specifically for the relief of Haitians.

[Aeneas]

I copied this from an email rec'd today and I thought I'd share.

" There are many agencies already mobilizing. I am not sure if Samaritan's Purse is on the ground there, but the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders certainly are. Doctors Without Borders have a hospital ship on it's way there (sounds like they may have lost most of their people in Haiti). Those agencies may provide the most immediate and impactful help.

http://www.redcross.ca/helpnow/

www.msf.ca/donate/

Another option to consider is the orphanages in Haiti that are soon going to be overrun with children. God's Littlest Angels (where I stayed) is a nursery/orphanage. Dixie is a nurse and her husband, John, is a jack of all trades. They take in sick children and nurse them back to health to either return to their families or find adoptive parents. They were largely unaffected, which is miraculous since they were about 30k form the epicenter, up the hill from Port-Au-Prince in Petionville. I would almost guarantee she is going to be getting an endless stream of kids left at their gates in the coming weeks.

http://glahaiti.org/ "

Just in case someone wants to be more specific with a donation, you could help out an orphanage.

[corporatejay]

^^^^

Are you sure that's a legit orphanage? I would be reluctant to give anyone money that isn't confirmed legit (Yele, Red Cross, Salvation Army).

[HOOT]

Originally Posted by Aeneas

Just in case someone wants to be more specific with a donation, you could help out an orphanage.

Be very, very careful who you donate money to because there are going to be a ton of scams out there. Not saying this is one of them but there are people out there who will take advantage of a situation like this, as sad as that is.

I know CNN had a website set up that you could see how has been 'vetted' and will show where the money is going. I will see if I can find it again.

CNN approved charities: http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/01/13...elp/index.html

Also found this article about the FBI talking about scams: http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/wayof...ams/index.html

Can't seem to find the breakdown of the money though...

[HOOT]

The federal government is earmarking up to $50 million to match Canadians' donations to charities aiding relief efforts in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/...anada-aid.html

[cyclone3483]

GLA is a legit orphanage. I am the one who gave Aeneas the email he posted earlier. I adopted twins from Haiti and we stayed at GLA while there. Any donations to GLA are used for care of the children and support of their medical and adoption services. Years ago, Dixie and John were in Haiti helping out another agency when a local brought their sick premee baby to Dixie because she was a nurse and they could not get any medical help elsewhere. John built an incubator from scratch on the spot and they tried to nurse this child to health. Sadly it passed away, but it was then that they knew where they are needed. They went back to the States, quit their jobs and secured funding, then moved permanently to Petionville. More than a decade later, they have helped hundreds of children that would have otherwise died, and hundreds of children find homes and a better life.My twins came from there, my friend's daughter came from there, our other friend's have adopted three times from there.The people of Petionville (one of the hardest hit areas) know Dixie has medical knowledge and can get supplies. Given the current situation, I would not be surprised if they began getting a flood of people bringing children to them in the aftermath.You can certainly support Canadian Red Cross or Doctor's Without Borders and your money will be put to good use. If you want to help an orphanage, this is one I can personally vouch for.

[cyclone3483]

I had a few people asking me about Haiti and why this earthquake could potentially be so deadly there when a similar magnitude earthquake inother nations might kill 100 people, maybe 1000. Here is what I know:

Remember that this is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, withmore than 80% living below the poverty line. They were once one of the most resource rich nations in the world, but occupation from the Spaniardsand then the French stripped them of everything of value. Haiti's biggest contributor to their gross domestic product? International aid.

When I went to Haiti to adopt my twins, I flew in toPort-Au-Prince. As you approach the airport from the air, you first see what looks like a massive garbage dump. As you descend, you realize that it is a shanty town, cube after cube of homes built with parts fromabandoned cars, leftovers from construction sites, pulled down frombillboards, etc. Row upon row of 8' by 8' shacks housing a family in each.It is so densely packed that you would likely need to walk for an hour toget to the center of it. Driving through Port-Au-Prince, almost every building is made of concrete. Something like 2 million people live in the city, which isI would guess about a tenth the size of Calgary. It was originally designed to be a small town.

Driving up the hill to Petionville, you see that homes are built leaningonto one another because it is easier to build three walls instead of four(share a wall with your neighbour). And the area is so mountainous thatpeople build on the side of hills and mountains frequently because that isthe only space available.

They only had electricity half the time. When they ran out, it went off and you had to wait for them to have enough for the power to come back on. Fortunately the place I stayed had a generator so they always had power.

Streets are not named, houses are not numbered, and typically the only places with phones were businesses. All of your food either came from tiny grocery stores or roadside food stands. And the government barely exists. The country borders on lawlessness at the best of times, hospitals are ill-equipped and undermanned. Police forces are outnumbered by organized crime groups and ill-equipped.

In my opinion, Haiti is the worst place in the world to have an earthquake.

Those buildings are built like dominoes, one goes down, they all go down. They are built without being structurally sound and with massive amounts ofconcrete, which will just pancake in an earthquake. Homes in less denselypacked places will likely tumble into ravines. Communications go from badto nonexistent. If the food stores are gone, people have no place to getfood.

I believe the estimates that 100,000 people may have already died. But theworst is yet to come as lawlessness, disease and starvation begin. Unlessthere is a sizable international aid and security mobilization, I would notbe surprised to see the number top a million.

Imagine if everyone in Calgary came into downtown and we invited everyone in Edmonton to join us. Most of the buildings downtown were damaged ordestroyed. Dead bodies decaying in the streets everywhere you go. Peopleneeding medical help can only find the occasional EMT or nurse who aredealing with 100+ injuries at a time and had no supplies or medicine. Allgrocery stores were either destroyed or looted. The most hardenedcriminals were all on the loose...and your government had no one coming tohelp you.

Fortunately it looks like world leaders are taking it seriously. I justpray they know how serious this one might get. Areas hit by the big tsunami had better infrastructure to deal with the disaster, money,supplies, etc. Haitian people are the most resilient and hardworkingpeople I've ever seen. They take pride in appearing their best whileliving in terrible conditions. But they can't come out of this one withouta massive amount of help.

*I hope this comes out legible. Having a heck of a time with spacing and tabs on this site and it doesn't allow edits for me.