Haiti Hit By 7.0 Earth Quake

Haiti is an impoverished country with widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs. Sadly most Haitians live on less than $2 a day.

Yesterday, January 12, 2010 an earthquake occurred in the boundary region separating the Caribbean plate and the North America plate. This plate boundary is dominated by left-lateral strike slip motion and compression, and accommodates about 20 mm/y slip, with the Caribbean plate moving eastward with respect to the North America plate.

The earth quake caused a crowded hospital to collapse, leveling countless shantytown dwellings and bringing even more suffering to a nation that was already the hemisphere’s poorest and most disaster-prone.

As night fell in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, fires burned near the shoreline downtown, but otherwise the city fell into darkness. The electricity was out, telephones were not working and relief workers struggled to make their way through streets blocked by rubble.

Dazed survivors wandered past dead bodies in the streets Wednesday, crying for loved ones, and rescuers searched collapsed buildings as officials feared the death toll from Haiti's devastating earthquake could reach into the tens of thousands.

Cargo planes with food, water, medical supplies, shelter and sniffer dogs headed to Haiti in a much needed massive relief effort.

The international Red Cross said a third of the country's 9 million people may need emergency aid, a burden that would test any nation and a crushing catastrophe for impoverished Haiti.

Some of the biggest immediate health threats include respiratory disease from inhaling dust from collapsed buildings and diarrhea from drinking contaminated water.

President Barack Obama promised an all-out rescue and humanitarian effort and American officials said they were responding with ships, helicopters, transport planes and a 2,000-member Marine unit, as well as civilian emergency teams from across the U.S.

U.S. government is sending planes to evacuate American personnel (I guess embassy staff etc) and also U.S. citizens. They said if people wanted to be evacuated they should go to the airport.

If you wish to help you can refer to the following agencies:

You can text "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10 to Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti. Please retweet this on Twitter to help get the word out: RT @RedCross You can text "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10 to Red Cross relief efforts in #haiti. You can also donate at the Red Cross web site.

Singer Wyclef Jean is from Haiti. He is using Twitter to promote relief efforts and you can donate $5 by texting YELE to 501501. Please retweet this on Twitter to help get the word out: RT @Wyclef: Help Haiti Earthquake Relief Donate $5 by texting YELE to 501 501 right now please RT For more information or to donate online, go to: http://yele.org. (I think their web site is overwhelmed right now.)

You can also help children affected by the earthquake through a donation in any amount to UNICEF through their web site. If you prefer, print a form to send your donation by mail or call 1.800.FOR.KIDS (1.800.367.5437) to donate by phone.