USAID Update on the Haiti relief operation January 18
A Haitian man preaches for hope while U.S. search and rescue teams search for potential victims in the city Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan 17, 2010 following a magnitude 7 earthquake that hit the city on Jan. 12, 2010. Department of Defense assets have been deployed to assist in the Haiti relief effort. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. James L. Harper Jr.)
Here is some of today’s report from the lead United States relief agency, USAID. The entire report is at the link.
SEARCH AND RESCUE
As of 1100 hours local time on January 18, the USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (USAID/DART) reported that U.S. urban search and rescue (USAR) teams had rescued approximately 40 individuals from collapsed buildings, including one girl two years of age this morning. On January 17, USAR teams rescued 12 people, including three children between the ages of three and seven. To date, international USAR teams have rescued more than 70 individuals throughout Port-au-Prince, an unprecedented tally for a five-day USAR operation.
On January 18, U.S. USAR teams continued to deploy to locations throughout Port-au-Prince, including the Caribbean Market, Carrefour, and a local school, to conduct reconnaissance missions where local residents have identified possible signs of life.
At present, 43 international USAR teams, with 1,739 rescue workers, and 161 dogs, are working in Haiti. Of the total, six teams with 506 personnel were deployed by the U.S. Government (USG) from Fairfax County, Los Angeles County, Miami, Miami-Dade, Virginia Beach, and New York fire departments.
ROAD CONDITIONS
Humanitarian organizations in Haiti report that roads remain difficult to transit, particularly as displaced populations are living on the streets, preventing trucks carrying relief and food supplies from reaching distribution sites. However, relief organizations continue to deliver an increased amount of assistance each day, in coordination with the GoH and the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), according to the USAID/DART.
According to the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo, the route from Santo Domingo to Port-au-Prince was reportedly passable, though bottlenecks due to relief traffic were creating delays of up to an hour at the border crossing point, and disorganized relief convoys were creating further delays. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recently reported a transit time of up to 18 hours. The U.N. Logistics Cluster has requested that the Government of the Dominican Republic (GoDR) establish a humanitarian hub in Barahona as an alternate for channeling humanitarian relief cargo from Santo Domingo to Haiti.
Patients are being treated outside in a make shift hospital at St. Michael Hospital on January 17, 2010 in Jacmel, Haiti. Jacmel is located on the other side of Haiti with a city population of 50,000. Their Hospital was destroyed by the earthquake and is treating patients outside the hospital. About 350 people have lost their lives in Jacmel due to the earthquake that hit the region on January 12, 2010 according to Emmet Murphy Chief of Party ACDIL VOCA. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Jeremy Lock)
MEDICAL CARE
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department will have all personnel and equipment on the ground in Haiti by the evening of January 19 for full activation of five Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs). The DMATs will initially provide support to eight severely damaged hospitals and health care centers.
Five U.N. World Health Organization (WHO) medical kits capable of supplying medical supplies for up to 10,000 individuals for a two-month period are scheduled to arrive January 19. The hospital ship USNS COMFORT is scheduled to arrive in Haiti on January 20 with 1,000 hospital beds and medical supplies.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has set up a field hospital at Hospital Universitaire d’Haiti in downtown Port-au-Prince, with the first surgeries scheduled for January 18. As of the evening of January 18, three Red Cross Basic Healthcare Emergency Response Units (ERUs) will be on the ground to provide care and triage in Port-au-Prince and potentially Jacmel. The Dominican Red Cross and the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo are working to set up a field hospital in JimanÃ, Dominican Republic, near the Haiti–Dominican Republic border. An additional Red Cross Referral Hospital ERU is preparing for deployment. Combined, the field hospitals and Basic Healthcare ERUs will meet the needs of more than 500,000 people.
Patients are being treated outside in a make shift hospital at St. Michael Hospital on January 17, 2010 in Jacmel, Haiti. Jacmel is located on the other side of Haiti with a city population of 50,000. Their Hospital was destroyed by the earthquake and is treating patients outside the hospital. About 350 people have lost their lives in Jacmel due to the earthquake that hit the region on January 12, 2010 according to Emmet Murphy Chief of Party ACDIL VOCA. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Jeremy Lock)
Table of contents for Haiti quake 2010
- Massive earthquake strikes Haiti
- Earthquake in Haiti – aftershocks continue
- Haiti earthquake aid
- Haiti quake damages pile up
- Horror in Haiti – the morning after the quake
- U.S. quickly responds to Haiti quake
- Infrastructure hurdles to Haiti quake relief
- U.S. Coast Guard on location in Haiti right now
- Strong aftershocks continue in Haiti
- PR Guard standing by – Gitmo damaged by Haiti quake
- Paras and Marines on alert for Haiti move
- Earthquake in Haiti update for January 13 evening
- Earthquake in Haiti – January 14 morning update
- Marines ready to assist Haiti after earthquake
- Earthquake in Haiti – Update for January 14 evening
- FEMA report on Haiti relief efforts for January 15
- Out of the night sky – Air Force secures Port-au-Prince airport
- Earthquake in Haiti – January 15 evening
- Haiti Quake Relief Funding Numbers
- But people are dying – thoughts on the Haitian disaster
- Aftershocks continue to rock Haiti
- Earthquake in Haiti – Update for January 16
- Haiti Quake Relief Funding Numbers for Jan 16
- Hospital ship Comfort sails for Haiti
- Baby delivered during Haiti evacuation
- Navy is delivering supplies to Haiti victims
- Hospital ship Comfort racing to Haiti
- Country club serves as forward base for Paras in Haiti
- Situation at Port-au-Prince airport improving
- Sanjay Gupta Assists Vinson Medical Team in Haiti
- USAID Update on the Haiti relief operation January 18
- Air drop to aid Haitian victims of earthquake
- Haiti Quake Relief Funding Numbers for Jan 18
- Earthquake in Haiti – morning update January 19
- Los Angeles rescuers save Haitian woman
- Stories from Haiti – update for Jan 20 morning
- American volunteers in Haiti
- American donations for Haiti earthquake relief – Jan 21
- Haiti earthquake relief update for Jan 21
- Haitians receiving care and support aboard Bataan
- Hospital ship Comfort healing, hugging Haitians
- Brief update on Navy and Marine relief efforts in Haiti Jan 23
- Fort Hood veterinary services unit sent to Haiti
- Harbor damage in Port-au-Prince
- American giving for Haiti relief as of January 25
- Comparison of Haiti donations to Katrina and the tsunami
- Haitian Coast Guard base becomes hub for quake relief
- Comparison of Haiti donations to Katrina and the tsunami Jan 28
- High tech warbird aids Haiti relief efforts
- High-speed ferrys en route to Haiti
- Southern Command briefs on Haiti situation
- Paras opening roads in Haiti
- Aid from Dominican Republic via Kentucky National Guard
- Haitian assistance stories for February 3
- Haitian relief efforts slow
- Marine calls Leogane Haiti home
- Haiti earthquake relief update for February 7
- Army medics at work in Haiti relief effort
- Haiti earthquake relief funding update for February 14
- Keeping Haitians informed
- A tent means a lot to Haitian orphans
- Italian troops aid paras in Haiti rubble clearance
- Landslide in Haiti tests Special Ops rescuers
- Navy and Marines bridge Haitian divide from government
- Haitian earthquake relief – update for February 28
- Haitian earthquake update – March 4
- Air Guard Engineers Help Haitians
- Things are baaaaad in Haiti
the attachments to this post:
Makeshift hospital in Jacmel Haiti
Haitian injured in Jackmel hospital
Haitian man preaching in the street
