HELP FOR HAITI PLEASE DO FOR HUMANITY

Thoughts and prayers with the 


people of Haiti.

Fresh earthquake panics Haitians

A powerful aftershock struck Haiti yesterday(20th jan 2010), shaking buildings and sending screaming people running into the streets only eight days after the country's capital was devastated by a major earthquake.

The magnitude-6.1 temblor was the largest aftershock yet to the apocalyptic January 12 quake that shattered Haiti's capital. It was not immediately clear if it caused additional damage or injuries.

The new quake hit at 6:03 am (1103 GMT) about 56km northwest of the capital of Port-au-Prince and 22km below the surface.

Wails of terror rose from frightened survivors as the earth shuddered at 6:03 am.

DEATH TOLL

According to the BBC, The Guardian and AFP, the death toll of Haiti catastrophic earthquake will be in the hundreds or even thousands. Overnight, Port-au-Prince was in total darkness with a large number of people sleeping outside in fear of more aftershocks. Large structures such as the Presidential Palace and the cathedral suffered major damages. A UN representative said that the UN local head quarter in Haiti has “sustained serious damage along with other installations, and a large number of personnel are missing”.

In his first interview since the earthquake, Haitian President Rene Preval has said thousands of people are feared dead. Speaking with the Miami Herald, President Preval described the situation in Port-au-Prince as “dire and unimaginable.” “Parliament has collapsed, the tax office has collapsed, schools have collapsed, hospital have collapsed. There are a lot of schools that have a lot of dead people in them,” said President Preval.

The Red Cross says that more than 3 million people are affected by the tragedy. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said today that the head of the UN mission in Haiti and his deputy were among more than 100 UN staff missing. According to AP, Port-au-Prince’s catholic archbishop is among those reported killed. In a phone interview with CNN, Haiti’s Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said that he believes the death toll could be higher than 100,000. According to Reuters, the Pentagon has just ordered a nuclear aircraft carrier and 3 amphibious ships to set sail for Haiti. The French Foreign Minister says the French embassy in Port-au-Prince is “destroyed and hundreds of French national are missing”.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

“Americans can help the most by donating cash to an established relief agency,” says Suzanne H. Brooks, Director of the Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI). “Haitians have suffered greatly in recent years and desperately need Americans to respond appropriately. Helping the efforts of professional humanitarian relief agencies is the absolute best way to aid the victims in Haiti.”

Those interested in making contributions to help the victims in Haiti can get more information by visiting CIDI’s Web site at www.cidi.org. Additionally, interested donors can visit www.interaction.org to obtain a list of credible responding agencies for international emergencies and www.give.org to get valuable information on making informed decisions when supporting charities. In addition, donors can visit www.globalgiving.org.

If you can please make a donation towards the relief efforts in Haiti. Anything we do will be helpful. If you know of any other charities involved in Haiti now, please leave information below in the comments section. 

Thank you.

Here are links to some establish organizations that are currently accepting donations

Yele Haiti - Donate Here

UNICEF - Donate Here

Red Cross - Donate Here

Doctors Without Borders - Donate Here

Lets have the people of Haiti in our prayers.

MUKESH