Haiti president describes `unimaginable' catastrophe after earthquake

[kpete]

Source: Miami Herald

Haiti president describes `unimaginable' catastrophe after earthquake


By JACQUELINE CHARLES, CAROL ROSENBERG, JEAN-CYRIL PRESSOIR AND LUISA YANEZ
[e-mail]

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Haitian President René Préval issued an urgent appeal for his earthquake-shattered nation Wednesday, saying he had been stepping over dead bodies and hearing the cries of those trapped under the rubble of the national Parliament.

The president, in his first interview since the earthquake, said the country was destroyed and he believed there were thousands of people dead but was reluctant to provide a number.

``We have to do an evaluation,'' Préval said, describing the scene as ``unimaginable.''

``Parliament has collapsed. The tax office has collapsed. Schools have collapsed. Hospitals have collapsed,'' he said. ``There are a lot of schools that have a lot of dead people in them.'' Among those trapped inside the Parliament building but still alive was the president of the Haitian Senate, Kely Bastien.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/582/story/1422279.html

---

slideshow:
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/01/slideshow_catastrophic.php?ref=fpblg

[lunatica]

1. Every update is just horrible!

I cry with every update

[Raschel]

2. The babies, the babies, they just showed school children on CNN.

[jwirr]

3. One of the things I noticed is there are not many children in those crowds.

[Bennyboy]

4. 100's of thousands die in Haiti quake

Source: CNN

Hundreds of thousands of people have died in Haiti's earthquake, the prime minister told CNN today.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/

---

Awful.

[Jennicut]

5. I just heard this on CNN, terrible news.

But considering the way so many buildings collapsed it is totally possible.

[Renew Deal]

6. Not impossible

Just 5% of 2.8 million is 140,000 people

[defendandprotect]

7. We have to understand that Global Warming will bring increased earth quakes . . .

Anyone can check for the "Pentagon Warning to Bush" on the internet --

but last I looked the part about "earthquakes" has been scrubbed --

I don't have another source for it -- but it was what the Pentagon originally said.

[no limit]

9. Before you point fingers at global warming & Bush can you hold off on the blame game for a day or 2

Hundreds of thousands of people died, is that all you can think about right now? Who or what is to blame?

[Cha]

15. How do know that's all the poster is thinking of?

I see no meanspiritedness in pointing out the reality of the tragedy.

Maybe the poster is like a lot of us..quite capable of multi-tasking.

[no limit]

54. Well when there are thousands of people slowly and painfully dying

and you are posting about who is to blame for this hours after it happened shows where your thoughts lie. I think most normal people when they hear that hundreds of thousands of people could have died they are so overtaken by that it sort of blocks everything else out. I don't know, maybe that's just me. Others might see tragedy and instead of thinking about the true gravity of the situation think of "how can I blame Bush for this".

[defendandprotect]

33. As if I'm not aware of the suffering of Haiti and the US role in it for 100 and more years!!

Neither was I suggesting "blame" for anyone --

I am simply trying to make clear that we all share the possibility of

being "Katrina'd" or "Haiti'd" due to Global Warming --

i.e.., the result of capitalism's exploitation of nature.

And it's something that has to be understood -- !!

[TZ]

60. lol

"The suffering of Haiti and the US role in it for 100 and more years"..Sure sounds like blame to me!!

[enid602]

11. Haiti

¨. . . will bring increased earth quakes . . .¨ And this one took place in an area that is not usually seismically active. You can see that the buildings (with their heavy, thick masonry walls) were not built with earthquakes in mind.

[Codeine]

28. That's a fault zone.

There's a fault that runs through that area called the EPGFZ. From the US Geological Survey site:

"The location and focal mechanism of the earthquake are consistent with the event having occurred as left-lateral strike slip faulting on the Enriquillo-Plaintain Garden fault system. This fault system accommodates about 7 mm/y, nearly half the overall motion between the Caribbean plate and North America plate.

The Enriquillo-Plaintain Garden fault system has not produced a major earthquake in recent decades. The EPGFZ is the likely source of historical large earthquakes in 1860, 1770, 1761, 1751, 1684, 1673, and 1618, though none of these has been confirmed in the field as associated with this fault."

Please don't make sweeping statements regarding topics about which you know less than nothing.

[enid602]

65. no need to get huffy

Look at the dates of most of those quakes. You could say the same thing about NYC´s proximity to the New Madrid fault, which would have done quite a bit of damage when it was last active in 1810 if the city had actually been developed. I´m just saying that the relative lack of activity in Haiti probably made them not feel the need to build according to earthquake specifications. A small quake in NYC will be more devastating that a larger one in LA.

[defendandprotect]

34. There are many concerns about Haiti . . .

it's long been a heartbreaking situation --

Infrastructure, etal --

And the right wing has put us on the same path here in "America."

US has behaved shamefully towards Haiti -- for a long, long time.

[WriteDown]

12. Plate tectonics influenced by global warming?

Really? REALLY?

[Fresh_Start]

41. actually yes, plate tectonics affected by global warming

I believe that it was that the reduction in the polar icecaps will change the pressure on the tectonic plates and result in more volcanoes and earthquakes.

[WriteDown]

43. Just look at Pompeii...

It was man's civilization that caused the volcano to erupt. That or Zeus's wrath. It's a coin flip. :eyes:

[LisaM]

13. I remember hearing that too, and people scoff at me for it

and I think the exact time to examine the cause and effect of man's actions with environmental disasters is when they happen. It's like people who don't think it's okay to discuss seatbelt use when someone dies in an accident or gun laws when there is a mass shooting, IMO, it's the exact time to bring it up, while people care. Memories are very short.

[TZ]

21. bringing up scientifically IMPOSSIBLE theories is acceptable?

Did you subscribe to the CIA causing the tsunami? Because thats how much rationality is in that post....

[defendandprotect]

35. Yes -- thank you for understanding what I was trying to point out . . .which is

that we are all vulnerable now to being "Katrina'd" or "Haiti'd" . . .

And we have to begin to understand that --

Haiti has long suffered, but ever more so in the last decades -- and having much

to do with cruel and anti-democratic US policies.

So sad to see that they have now suffered this additional catastrophe.

And, of course, as I pointed out the Pentagon WARNED Bush that Global Warming is

more of a threat to our nation than "terrorism."

Again -- the original memo included "earthquakes" -- and at the moment I'm not

able to do a search -- problem with my computer.

:)

[TZ]

58. uh yeah.

Again, I ask, its clear to anyone with high school science that plate tectonics has NOTHING TO DO WITH GLOBAL WARMING.
Haiti sits on a goddamned fault line. I suggest you read about geology. Christ...

[TZ]

20. Uh no.

There is no relationship between atmospherics and plate tectonics...:tinfoilhat:
I wondered when the idiot conspiracy posts would start...:banghead:

[defendandprotect]

36. The only . ..

"idiocy" I see here is your posts --

Banging your head on walls might have something to do with it -- !!


:)

[TZ]

59. I'm a scientist.

Stupidity infuriates me. Do you not understand the concept of faults? And Plates? Haiti literally sits on the edge of a plate..Thats why the earthquake happened! I suppose you believe that the US caused the earthquake that caused 2004 tsunami too...:eyes:

[PacerLJ35]

24. Why would atmospheric changes affect geological processes?

I guess I could understand the atmosphere could have some impact on the Earth's geology, but that'd have to be one hell of a change.

[defendandprotect]

37. Because in the end we don't know if even the planet will keep turning . . .

there is no assurance of that --

We do understand that heating the atmosphere will bring catastrophic weather conditions --

It's also understood that we have no idea how all of that will compound --

In fact, there is a 50 year delay in Global Warming which means we are only feeling the

effects of our activities up to 1960 at this point. Consider all that happened after that

point. AND, I would not preclude our use of atomic weapons and atomic tests above and

as also being a trigger for Global Warming and other events.

Everything has proceeded much faster than scientists originally thought they would --

It's also clear GW will bring increased effects of tropical storms, cyclones, tornadoes,

etal. And, as I said increased earthquakes.

I'd also suggest that too few understand the seriousness of our changing weather patterns

which are caused by Global Warming.

And the effect on our oceans.

El Nino and La Nina were at one time once in every 1,000 or 2,000 year weather systems --

not something we see with such frequency now.

Wind patterns have been changed --

Many think of nature as indestructable -- rather you have only to look at your own body

to understand the damage that can be done.

Consider the pollution of our planet, air, water, oceans, soil -- and the consequences of

that on our own bodies.


I'd also point to the reality that exploding atomic weapons certainly could not have been

beneficial to our planet -- open explosions -- controlled explosions -- and underground

explosions.

Sad to say that we also exploded nuclear weapons in outer space . . . evidently in hopes

of knocking out the Van Allen Radiation Belts!

That's the kind of insanity which has guided our policy decisions --

Plus the further pressures of capitalism and its exploitation of the planet.

As a former resident of the Bikini Islands said after we dropped nuclear weapons on her

home islands . . .

"Americans are really smart about really stupid things" --


There are many who who will suggest to you that the planet will always keep turning --

that's not necessarily true -- especially if we get a polar shift.

[TrogL]

39. No, the planet isn't going to stop rotating

What is God's sake are you smoking? (errr, can I have some?)

[defendandprotect]

40. Oh . . good, we'll take that as a guarantee on your part -- !!!

:eyes:


No one has any idea how all of this that we call Global Warming will compound --

nor the overall consequences --

Nor all of the damage we have done to the planet -- soil, air, oceans, drinking water,

upper atmosphere -- ozone holes -- will play out --


No one can suggest nor guarantee that we will not have a polar shift --

or that the planet will continue to turn.

[WriteDown]

45. Considering the temperature on the surface or Mercury (1130 °F)....

and the fact that it is still spinning should give us some confidence. :eyes:

[no limit]

53. Lol, its about as much of a gurantee as the fact that the earth is round

[TrogL]

55. the earth is spherical

I remember reading somewhere that it is actually pear-shaped by a few miles.

[no limit]

61. Ok professor Trog, fair enough :p

[TrogL]

57. Let's compare theories

I'm going with inertia. At its current rate of precession, the earth will stop spinning about the time it gets eaten by the Sun going super-nova (which, by the way, will NOT be caused by earth-bound sources of global warming). I give a couple of billion years.

Let's hear yours.

[WriteDown]

44. Exploding nuclear weapons in space...

Obviously you've never heard of something I like to call "The Sun."

[Threedifferentones]

49. We don't know if the planet will keep turning no matter what we do...

But you know that global warming affects plate tectonics. Most everyone here will grant you that global warming almost certainly will lead to more drastic storms, ie more disasters like Katrina. But, you asserting that the Haiti earthquake is necessarily connected to our habits is, like another poster said, akin to saying Zeus destroyed Pompeii. Sure, our habits are bad, and sure, it seems like nature will make us pay the price sooner or later, but that does not mean every natural disaster is related to said habits.

I think you are taking criticism here because getting hysterical about global warming after an earthquake actually makes it harder for us to convince stupid skeptics of its importance, you are playing right in to the "environmental loony" stereotype that Rush et al use so well.

[snooper2]

66. See what you all did...

you got D&P worked up in full rant mode :rofl:

[TZ]

67. you mean

full "idiot" mode, don't you...:eyes:

[PacerLJ35]

71. The Earth will keep turning

While we haven't experienced this kind of global climate change in human history, the Earth has, and in very dramatic ways. Dramatic enough to cause huge mass extinctions through rapid and catastrophic climate change (ie, end of the Paleozoic)...the Earth still rotates, and life still existed. However, climate change will likely affect how we live today if nothing is done...but it won't cause the Earth to stop rotating, etc (or cause polar shifts, and things of that nature).

[Fresh_Start]

42. because the icepacks will be reduced

and the icepacks basically apply pressure (gravity) on the plates which reduce their movements. Without the icepacks, the plates will more move easily. More plate movement = more earthquakes

[WriteDown]

46. Just sad....

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/facts.php

[defendandprotect]

47. Thank you for this further explanation ---

I had just also pulled out "Song For the Blue Ocean" by Safina

looking for some info on the ocean bottoms --

but one of the first things I came across was the reminder that dynamite

was being used to hunt tropical fish in coral beds!


"Americans are really smart about really stupid things--"

That's what a female native of the Bikini Islands said after we dropped nuclear weapons

on the Bikini Islands --

[TZ]

62. Maybe it would help

If you had actual peer reviewed data to make your case instead of pulling "facts" out of your ass....
I mean how does one graduate high school in this country being so scientifically illiterate?

[defendandprotect]

63. Maybe it would help you . . ..

if you could read --

:eyes:

[defendandprotect]

64. -- and for anyone who actually wants to know about Global Warming . . .

I'd recommend "The Heat Is On" --

The heat is on : the high stakes battle over Earth's threatened climate
by Gelbspan, Ross.

1997

Probably at most libraries --



And "Song For a Blue Ocean" -- Carl Safina

especially to understand the dangers of melting ice mixed with salt water --

Also probably at your library --

[TZ]

68. Wow melting ice and salt water...

Make sure the road crews in cold climates read about that!!! They are destroying teh world by laying salt on icy roads!!!

[defendandprotect]

69. Thanks for making clear how little you understand of Global Warming . . .

and you're now on ignore -- !!

Bye --

[PacerLJ35]

70. Where did you hear this theory?

Several people in my family have degrees in geology, including myself, and I've never heard of it...

[Fresh_Start]

72. originally a BBC article but a quick internet search picked this up

http://www.livescience.com/environment/070830_gw_quakes.html

[Codeine]

26. There is no stupidity into which you will not wholeheartedly buy,

is there? Plate tectonics have fuck-all to do with temperature/climate.

[defendandprotect]

38. Rather your posts point to your own

"stupidity" . . .

And that's for making that so clear!

[TrogL]

56. Ad-hominem so makes your point

:sarcasm:

[Name removed]

29. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Odin2005]

31. What a stupid post.

[Throd]

50. And an increase in flappy-armed stupidity, apparently.

[aquart]

8. omg. These are tsunami numbers. omg.

[YOY]

10. This is much more serious than I initially took it.

n.t.

[slackmaster]

14. Ugh, I'm afraid the news is going to keep getting worse and worse over the next few days and weeks

By now the sanitation issues with all the deceased are beginning.

[Odin2005]

30. Oh my God!!!

:cry:

[DesertFlower]

16. hubby and i went to haiti in 1971.

i have never seen such poverty. many houses and businesses were shacks.

[NikolaC]

17. What a horrible tragedy

I hope that the rescue efforts work and that they get the help they desperately need.

[existentialist]

18. 36 aftershocks magnitude 4.2 or greater in about 20 hours

http://www.iris.edu/seismon/zoom/events/?lon=-72.92&lat=18.45

[dencol]

19. Just gave $10 to the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund.

Wish I could give more, but I've been out of work for almost a year.

[Hardrada]

22. That's great! We will try to help too.

[flamingdem]

25. NOW IS THE TIME! We all need to help, this is just to enormous to ignore!! nt

[WriteDown]

23. Are there UN forces on the ground there yet? nt

[Kurska]

27. Saw a video with bluehelmets patrolling the streets of their capitol.

So I can only assume, not sure what the rest of the country looks like. I'm imagining their entire law and order infrastructure completely unprepared to handle the day to day affairs of the island completely collapsed after the earthquake.

[XemaSab]

51. Apparently everyone who was in the UN building was killed

:(

[Posteritatis]

52. There have been for awhile; a number were killed in the quake. (nt)

[Odin2005]

32. This is so horrible, I can't watch the news.

:cry:

[Mind_your_head]

48. WHY has Haiti been such a mess for so long?

I hope that some 'good' comes out of this tragedy on their nation.

Peace,
M_Y_H