January 12, 2010: The United Nations reports

The earthquake that hit Haiti on 12 January 2010 affected almost 3.5 million people, including the entire population of 2.8 million people living in Port-au-Prince. The Government of Haiti estimates that the earthquake killed 222,570 and injured another 300,572 people. Displacement peaked at close to 2.3 million people, including 302,000 children. At least 188,383 houses were badly damaged and 105,000 were destroyed by the earthquake. Sixty per cent of Government and administrative buildings, 80 per cent of schools in Port-au-Prince and 60 per cent of schools in the South and West Departments were destroyed or damaged. Total earthquake-related loss is estimated at $7.8 billion, equivalent to more than 120 per cent of Haiti’s 2009 gross domestic product.

In October 2010, cases of cholera began to appear in Haiti. The illness had not been seen for generations and it spread rapidly. As of December 26, 2011, the Haitian Ministry of Health reports 522,946 cases of cholera since then, and a total of at least 7,011 deaths.

The situation two years after the earthquake remains grim. Over 500,000 Haitians remain in nearly 1,000 refugee camps. The deaths and illnesses from cholera continue, though improvements in sanitation and availability of treatment have cut the death rate nearly in half.

The World Food Program states

Haiti is a food deficit country. It relies heavily on imported food – 50 percent of national requirements are imported. Food prices have been rising since the end of 2010. In a country where approximately half of the population lives with less than $1 a day and three quarters have less than $2 per day, this increase has led to an overall loss of purchasing power for the majority of Haitians. WFP is using its three main programmes – school meals, nutrition and cash and food for work- to alleviate the impact of rising food prices on the most vulnerable.

Still, for the first time in 25 years, the Haitian government has all three branches functioning. The Caracol Industrial Park will open in March and its first tenant, Korean textile firm Sae-A, has committed to creating 20,000 new jobs. About half of the rubble created by the earthquake has been removed with 30-40 percent having been recycled into new construction. Much of the remaining “rubble” consists of buildings that have been condemned but the owners believe they can be salvaged.

U.S. Southern Command has conveyed a supply of disaster response equipment to the Haitian government. The United States has donated 12 boats, four sport utility vehicles, and 11,000 hand-crank radios to Haiti’s Direction de la Protection Civile (DPC).

As Hurricane Irene slowly moves into Canada, the damage it leaves behind is immense. For Americans affected by the wind, water and other effects of this record storm, here are some resources. Some websites are of more value than others. As of this writing, only Puerto Rico has received a “Major Disaster Declaration”. The list of “Emergency Declarations”, a lower level of declaration, is at the bottom of this post. (more…)

While the United States and a dozen partners continue to enforce UN Security Council Resolution 1973 by force, the flow of refugees out of Libya continues. Though slowed by Loyalist forces at some border crossings, both Libyan nationals and third country nationals continue to flee the civil war.

The Sallum border crossing the the entry way for Libyan refugees to Egypt. The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that since February 22, 2011, 140,128 people crossed the border at Sallum. While the original stream was primarily Egyptians, Libyans and other nationalities now make up the majority of those arriving.

the last week has seen about 3,000 refugees cross the border each day. Most move on to other destinations. The IOM has helped over 11,000 refugess return to their home countries, with two thirds of those being repatriated to Bangladesh. About 2,300 refugees remain stranded at the border crossing.

As of March 16, the IOM was reporting that 158,000 people had crossed from Libya into Tunisia and 128,000 from Libya into Egypt. Of those crossing into Tunisia, 123,000 were third country nationals, where the vast majority of those crossing into Egypt have been Egyptian natives.

Niger and Algeria have also seen some refugee traffic. Many of these are residents of sub-Saharan African countries. Niger, especially, had been hard pressed by the arrivals in the remote city of Dirkou on the edge of the desert.

As of March 18, 2011, Egypt continued to refuse entry from Libya for Palestinians.

The men and women of the United States military not only volunteer to defend our nation, they reach out to the needy wherever they may be stationed. The Marines claim the title “No Better Friend” but it really does apply to all the services.

Since 1998, the Airborne community at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, has jumped, willingly, from perfectly good airplanes to obtain toys for needy local children. Operation Toy Drop is a tradition that continues to bring smiles to children and to paratroopers alike.

The concept is simple. Paratroopers register for a chance to jump with one of several foreign jumpmasters, and to earn the “jump wings” from that country. Foreign qualification badges are prized by any servicemember, and foreign jump wings especially so. The 2010 operation will have double the usual number of foreign jumpmasters so more paratroopers can earn their foreign wings.

As part of registering, the troop donates a toy. The toys are then distributed to a variety of agencies that provide children’s services. The goal is at least 6,000 toys.

Not every troop will get to jump. Space is limited so there will be a lottery to gain a spot on an aircraft. Over 4,000 soldiers are expected to register. Germany, Ireland, Chile and Canada are the foreign nations participating.

“In Katrina’s Wake: The National Guard on the Gulf Coast, 2005,” a book that chronicles the National Guard’s involvement in the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history, has been released by the U.S. Government Printing Office.

This 64-page monograph, written by National Guard historians Bill Boehm, Renee Hylton, and Army Maj. Thomas W. Mehl, shows how Katrina first grew from a seemingly-routine Category One hurricane in Florida into a behemoth storm in the Gulf of Mexico bringing 150 mph-plus winds and large swells of water upon hundreds of thousands of people.

It struck Louisiana and Mississippi somewhat diminished in strength, but bringing with it the capability to flood 80 percent of the city of New Orleans as its levees failed, and to flatten buildings and structures in the state of Mississippi. Over 1,800 individuals were killed, and many more incapacitated.

The story of the National Guard during the time of the hurricane was not well-publicized, nor was it correctly reported by mass media outlets, said Boehm, who is the lead author of the book.

The National Guard undertook the largest humanitarian mission in recorded U.S. history by sending over 50,000 Soldiers and Airmen from all 54 states and territories to the stricken region for over a month.

This book focuses the readers on the tasks undertaken by the Guard in aiding marooned residents and assisting local authorities without overemphasizing political or social commentary prevalent in reporting the larger story.

It also uses oral histories recorded by soldiers and airmen on the ground to illustrate the stark conditions present there and includes maps, photographs, and multiple appendices that further detail the National Guard units that came to the Gulf States, and a timeline that shows how events progressed, Boehm said.

The book can be found on the National Guard Website.

DVIDS