Reuters TV January 12, 2010
President Obama has promised a “Swift and Coordinated Effort” on behalf of the American government to aid the Haitian people as their nation begins to sift through the rubble of a tragedy and assess the damage that stands before them. The third world country was hit with a massive 7.0 earthquake last evening and many fear thousands could be dead. The extent of the devostation is still unknown, but the images and reports that have emerged are devastating to say the least. Buildings have crumbled, a hospital has fallen, infrastructure is in ruins, and many are wandering the streets in search of loves ones. The videos and the photos of the devastation are truly incomprehensible.
The Red Cross headquarters and the United Nations building in Port Au Prince are among the structures that have fallen and more than 100 UN workers are reportedly still unaccounted for; and the Head of the UN there is reportedly among the victims of the devastation. The Catholic Archbishop has also fallen in the natural disaster leaving a nation that is 80% Catholic at a loss for positive leadership in the aftermath of an actualized nightmare. The nation’s Parliament building is also in ruins and the Haitian government appears helpless to care for its people and were out of contact for much of the night.
The President called the tragedy “unimaginable” and said that he worked through the night coordinating our relief efforts with all relevant agencies gathering information and assessing the damage. He said in his press conference that he offered his condolences to the Haitian people and stated that “We are reminded of the common humanity that we all share.” He also said that the State Department is working to account for whereabouts of members of our embassy at Port Au Prince, and all American citizens that may have been on the island nation. He also encouraged citizens to visit WhiteHouse.gov if they wanted to donate to the effort.
Father Pierre Le Beller of the Saint Jacques Missionary Center in western France says fellow missionaries in Haiti told him they found Miot’s body in the ruins of the archdiocese office.
UPDATE
News reports are a bit jumbled at this point, but to be honest, they really only reflect the statements of officials in Haiti that continue to surface. Regardless of the specific numbers, it appears that the death toll will far exceed initial estimates. Some are beginning to talk in the hundreds of thousands lost.
Bellerive said he based his estimate on reports of the number of buildings that collapsed with people inside, adding the extent of casualties is largely guesswork at this point. About 70,000 people were killed in the hemisphere’s worst earthquake on record, which hit Peru in 1970, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site.
UPDATE
AP via Fox News
Haitian PresidentRene Preval believes somewhere between 30,000 and 50,000 are believed dead.
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