Haiti Earthquake: Aid Effort Ramps Up as 200,000 Dead Predicted

[tekisui]

Source: The Guardian

The Haiti earthquake death toll is predicted to reach 200,000 as relief workers struggle against looting and logistical nightmares that have delayed vital supplies of food, water and medical help.

International aid has begun to reach the capital, Port-au-Prince, four days after the quake destroyed much of the Haiti's infrastructure, from hospitals and prisons to the presidential palace itself.

The Red Cross said a convoy of trucks carrying a "huge amount" of aid from the Dominican Republic was due to arrive in the capital this afternoon, bringing a 50-bed field hospital, surgical teams and an emergency telecommunications unit.

The supplies and medical teams had to be sent in by land because "it's not possible to fly anything into Port-au-Prince right now", said Paul Conneally, the charity's spokesman in Dominica. "The airport is completely congested."

Mark Pearson of the charity ShelterBox said: "It's utter chaos at the airport. Buildings have been completely destroyed, the hospital has been destroyed. It's a full scale emergency, there's so much destruction.

"The priority at the moment is search and rescue and then after that emergency shelter provision, so obviously there's frustration. There's no fuel and people are hunting for water. It's difficult to put the scale of destruction into words."

more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/16/haiti-earthquake-update-toll-aftershock

[FedUpWithIt All]

1. By land takes around 9 hours, on a quiet clear road.

The fact that this option now appears to be in play is very good news. For the first time in days i feel hope that real movement of aid will begin happening on a larger scale.