The Haitian capital Port-au-Prince is a scene of utter destruction and chaos.
03:11 GMT
More efforts to help Haitians, LA Times reports:
“Amazon.com has added a box on its home page that customers can click to donate to the Haiti relief efforts of Mercy Corps, and anyone with a cell phone can donate $10 to the American Red Cross by sending a text message with the word “HAITI” to 90999.
Bank of America Corp. will give $1 million and the Walmart Foundation $600,000 to help victims of the earthquake that hit Haiti Tuesday, American Airlines is flying in relief supplies and grocers and other companies are donating funds and products, the organizations said Wednesday.”
Other charities are as follows:
Coca-Cola Co.’donated $1 million to American Red Cross for Haiti
The UPS Foundation $1 million to American Red Cross and UNICEF and others
Publix Super Markets Charities $100,000
Wells Fargo & Co. $100,000
TD Bank Financial Group and General Motors $100,000 each
Kraft Food Foundation $25,000
Sales4Souls Inc 100,000 pairs of shoes
GoDaddy.com $500,000 to Hope for Haiti
Kellogg Co. pledged $250,000 to the American Red Cross.
(For a list of all the donors, please check the LA Times article)
03:00 GMT
As night falls in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, the situation still seems dire. There are no immediate reports of how many people have died. There are no reports on how many people have been injured. There are no real estimates of how many people are trapped under the rubble.
All that can be said for sure is that the lives of at least 3 million people in this impoverished nation has been shattered. The other 6 million people will also be facing tremendous woes as the economic hub of this nation turned into rubble just a day ago.
As reports from citizen journalists reach us, the catastrophe’s limits can easily be observed. The city is said to be in almost utter darkness. People are sleeping outside. Tremors and shockwaves continue to hit the capital. There was even a report that gunfire was heard in the capital.Cell phone connections are severely hampered.
As the world mobilizes and sends relief to Haiti, it is uncertain what might happen inside the country in the next few days. I will update more soon as more information about the miserable situations clears further.
02:45 GMT
Guys,
As we wait anxiously on more news from Haiti, here’s what I think we need to be doing right now:
I have covered situations like this before and I have followed news as well about earthquakes in the past. There are possibly hundreds if not thousands of people still trapped under the rubble in Haiti.
Their lives depend on the donations we make right now. Sure enough, our help will be much needed in the coming days to help survivors, but those who are waiting and praying under tonnes of concrete, mud, wood and metal can’t wait that long.
Please help raise money right now. I saw a tweet earlier that said, “I heard help is coming… tomorrow.” Let’s not waste time while we have it.
Please raise awareness about the ones trapped under the rubble, waiting for our help now. Pressure your governments to do more and quickly. This is the time to save those lives who are waiting for our help.
Here’s a good link with list of aid agencies you can donate to here. Please donate and soon.
02:33 GMT
URGENT — CNN REPORTER IN PORT-AU-PRINCE SAYS GUN SHOTS CAN BE HEARD IN THE CITY. NO OTHER DETAILS (via @Upfront_News)
02:29 GMT
The Associated Press Reports:
The State Department has established a toll-free number (888-407-4747) for people seeking information about family members in Haiti. The government advises that some callers may receive a recording because of the heavy volume of inquiries.
If you are wondering how you could help with the relief efforts in Haiti, Catholic Relief might be of help:
If you have a cell phone and you want to help survivors of the earthquake in Haiti, please text RELIEF to 30644 and follow the instructions.
02:24 GMT
The Network for Good has released a list of aid agencies that you can donate to to directly help the people of Haiti through this catastrophe of epic proportions.
You can access the list by clicking here.
I have already posted several bona fide aid agencies’ information in the liveblog, however, this is perhaps one of the more substantial lists that are out there.
02:15 GMT
Massive world relief effort is currently underway to reach the victims and survivors of Haiti’s catastrophic earthquake.
The US, Britain and other countries are already sending supplies or are gearing up supplies to send to the country to provide assistance to rescue teams.
The Associated Press Reports:
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the United States was offering full assistance — civilian and military — while dozens of countries including Britain, France, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico and Venezuela pledged rescue teams, doctors, cash and supplies.
Sixty-five rubble-clearing specialists and six sniffer dogs were leaving France on Wednesday for Haiti, while Spain was rushing three airplanes of rescuers and 100 tons of tents, blankets and cooking kits. Israel was sending in an elite Army rescue unit of engineers and doctors. A military reconnaissance team from Canada was arriving in Haiti on Wednesday aboard a C-130 transport plane to assess the need for donated mosquito nets, basic household goods, tents and sanitation packages.
The Irish telecommunications company Digicel said it would donate $5 million to aid agencies and help repair Haiti’s damaged phone network.
(Having covered similar catastrophes before, I seriously think millions is not enough.)
02:12 GMT
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have donated $1 million to Doctors Without Borders to assist in the relief effort for Haitian victims.
Where are the other celebrities?
01:56 GMT
Relief agencies on Twitter report on relief efforts in Haiti:
Tune in to @cp24newsat 9 pm for updates on Haiti. Also, keep checking our wesite for info! http://bit.ly/16ADif
Donate your birthday to Haiti Earthquake Relief here: http://ow.ly/WbWA
Doctors Without Borders has treated more than 1,000 wounded people since the earthquake hit #Haiti.
We are dispatching additional emergency staff, including a 6-person surgical team expected to arrive in the coming days.
See what Doctors Without Borders was doing in #Haiti before the earthquake. http://bit.ly/61BCmC
Just saw Hanesbrands has pledged $25k to @care‘s Haiti disaster relief fund. Thanks!
RT @CoxHealth: Today we donated 3 pallets of medical supplies to @ConvoyofHope for Haiti earthquake relief. Thank you, Convoy// #haitiquake
We knew the @OneDaysWages community was amazing, but 120+ donors together giving over 10k for #Haiti in less than 12 hours? Incredible!!
RT @SMacLaughlin: Visa Giving sets up Haiti donation forms for OxFam and AmeriCares http://bit.ly/5VNgsO #haiti
AmeriCares staff & aid bound for Port-au-Prince. We pledge $5 million in relief for #Haiti http://bit.ly/4CyCob help Haiti #earthquake
We need your support to help children and families recover from Haiti’s strongest earthquake in 200 years. http://bit.ly/5dDppC #HaitiQuake
Help us spread the word. Add a banner to your website, profile or blog. http://bit.ly/7jHLzd Help #Haiti http://bit.ly/6gp6AP
01:42 GMT
Israel joins relief effort for Haiti victims:
The Israeli Foreign Ministry on Wednesday prepared a rescue team for departure to the disaster-stricken country, saying later that though two Israelis initially regarded as missing had been located, eight Israelis remained unaccounted for in Haiti, among them the daughter of late Israeli peace activist Abie Nathan. The rescue team includes elite army corps engineers and medical corps ready to deploy field hospital, the Israeli consulate in New York reported.
Israeli ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Amos Radian, is scheduled to join the rescue team whose purpose is to gauge the best way Israel can assist with the crisis and decide on the most immediate needs.
IsraAID also planned to send a 12-man search-and-rescue team, which includes emergency medical staff.
01:35 GMT
CNN reports:
One of two U.S. Military planes carrying a 30-man assessment team arrived at Port Au Prince Haiti Wednesday evening.
Haitians on Twitters report that the destruction is of catastrophic proportions. Hospitals are running out of fuel, electricity is unavailable, cell phone connections are clogged up, the capital has slowly gone quiet.
01:32 GMT
The UN has confirmed that at least 16 staff members have died in the earthquake. The dead include:
“… three police officers from Jordan, one from Argentina, one from Chad and 11 Brazilian peacekeepers.”
There were also earlier estimates that more than 50 staffers have been injured. Reports of Haitian casualties are staggering. Many sources claim – and we and others hope it is not true – that well over 100,000 people might have lost their lives.
01:30 GMT
Video from CBS shows the beginnings of the earthquake in Port-au-Prince. The video shows a roadside camera capturing the force of the earthquake as it begins to shatter surrounding buildings.
01:20 GMT
CNN’s Pauline Chiou reports
Our CNN Pentagon producers report US Navy activated a hospital ship (64 crew & 560 hospital staffers). When ready, wil sail towards Haiti.
01:16 GMT
4 US embassy staffers have been evacuated from Port-au-Prince to the US base in Guantanamo. They are currently receiving medical attention.
(Wish the US was also doing more to help Haitians in need of medical assistance.)
Full Story
01:12 GMT
Glimmers of hope amidst the destruction: The UPS Foundation which is the relief arm of the UPS has pledged to donate $1 million to the relief effort underway in Haiti.
Half of the money will be in cash assistance while the other half would be used for delivering supplies to Haiti.
01:09 GMT
Hundreds – perhaps thousands – of Haitians have gathered along the border with the Dominican Republic in order to cross to their neighboring country.
Tensions between the two countries already run high because of Haitian refugees already being in the Dominican Republic.
01:06 GMT
Information or inquiries about U.S. citizens in Haiti, please call 888-407-4747. If you are outside of the U.S. and Canada, call 202-501-4444.
23:55 GMT
Coast Guard assesses the damage in the Haitian capital
Port-au-Prince from the air. (Very disturbing, please view with caution.)
Picture of people gathered to view bodies and try to find loved ones that are missing.
Amidst the destruction, some houses
have survived miraculously.
23:50 GMT
Famous Haitian musician Wyclef Jean is busy on Twitter and Yele Haiti trying to shore up support and donations for Haitians in desperate need of help.
You can follow him here:
You can also donate $5 to help Haiti through a simple text message:
From Wyclef Jean:
Haiti need us please pray and support the country donate $5 2 Earthquake relief foundation by texting YELE to 501 501 or visit yele.org
23: 45 GMT
Haitians on Twitter speak of horrific scenes inside Haiti’s capital:
Bodies are being put by the side of the Canape Vert road so friends and relatives can come pick them up
A priest came to see me..I asked him why so many churches collapsed..he left without an answer..God works in mysterious ways
There were kids in the St Gerard skool when it collapsed. I haven’t seen any sort of logistical backup in this part of town since the quake
I wonder if some other part of town is getting logistical support..Is this a Green zone/Red zone issue???
It looks like anything taller then 1 story high is on the floor in delmas… #haiti
I’m listening to mayi a gaye by boukman eksperyans for Haiti tonight, http://bit.ly/7Sovtu
I hear help is coming….tomorrow
signing out.. this is all a bit much ! .. still getting aftershocks.. possibly sleeping outside again today :/ ..emotionally exhausted
23:31 GMT
The World Bank has pledged $100 million so far to help with the survivors of the catastrophe in Haiti. (I don’t think it is going to be enough, but it’s a start.)
“This is a shocking event and it is crucial that the international community supports the Haitian people at this critical time,” said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick in a news release. “The World Bank is mobilizing significant financial assistance and sending a team to help assess damage and reconstruction needs.”
– Brazil’s Ministry of Defense ordered its U.N. troops in the country to offer whatever assistance they can, Brazil’s official news agency reported.
– China is preparing to send a 50-member rescue team, including three sniffer dogs, the official news agency Xinhua reported. China has 125 peacekeeping police in Haiti, Xinhua reported.
– Spain is sending three planeloads of aid — two from Panama in Central America and one from Madrid, the Spanish capital, CNN affiliate CNN+ reported. Spain is also making 3 million euros ($4.35 million) available for aid and will coordinate the European Union response.
– France, Haiti’s former colonial ruler, dispatched two planeloads of rescue personnel, one from Guadeloupe in the Caribbean and one from Marseilles, France.
– Russia is sending a mobile hospital with a staff of 45, including 20 doctors, Emergency Situations Ministry spokeswoman Elena Chernova told CNN. The mobile hospital “has intensive therapy, surgery, diagnostics, ultra-sound, X-ray, electrocardiogram modules as well as a blood test laboratory,” and can accommodate 50 patients at a time, Chernova said.
– Cuba sent an additional 30 doctors, plus medical supplies, to join the 344 doctors and paramedics it already had working in Haiti on humanitarian missions, said Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez.
– Iceland is sending a 37-man search-and-rescue team and offered to help evacuate foreign nationals, its foreign ministry said.
– Canada has a five-man team already in Haiti as part of the U.N. relief efforts there.
– The United Kingdom and Israel also pledged to send survey teams.
23:30 GMT
UNICEF has launched a specific webpage to help gather donations to help Haitian children. Please donate if you have the financial ability.
23:27 GMT
The Miami Herald has launched Haiti Connect to help in finding missing Haitians. People can post pictures and other information about their relatives in hopes of news about their story
23:25 GMT
Haiti’s presidential palace and the home of the president have been destroyed in the earthquake as well. President Preval is stating that he is focusing his attention on helping people and not finding a bed to sleep tonight.
Full Story
23:23 GMT
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be canceling the remainder of her Asia trip to focus her energies on tackling the humanitarian crisis in Haiti.
23:20 GMT
For those in the US worried about American loved ones in Haiti there’s bad news:
Twitter sources say that evacuation of Americans wont start until tomorrow. There will be only two flights from 9 AM to 2 PM and only about 200 are currently scheduled.
23:17 GMT
Reports that there are so many dead in Haiti that it is becoming increasingly difficult to give bodies back to families. Bodies are simply being piled up on the side of streets as people scramble to find their loved ones among the dead.
No real reports on which hospitals in the capital have survived the earthquake. I will update as soon as I have information.
23:08 GMT
Reports emerging now that the Haitian President Rene Preval might leave Port-au-Prince for Santo-Domingo in the Dominican Republic for Security reasons.
23:04 GMT
State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley said Wednesday that officials were still trying to confirm the reports. He added that only 100 of the estimated 45,000 Americans living in Haiti had been able to communicate with U.S. officials and verify they were safe and sound. So far, there are reports that at least 3 Americans have died in the tragedy.
14 UN staff members have also reportedly died in the country.
23:01GMT
Here is a full list of AID agencies that you can donate to without fear of being scammed:
http://bit.ly/62JHXi American Red Cross
http://bit.ly/8X2p5t Operation USA
http://bit.ly/7DErL2 International Relief Teams
http://bit.ly/6Kx5H7 World Vision
http://bit.ly/4sUYEC Direct Relief International
http://bit.ly/6oEMYZ International Medical Corps
For updates on Relief agencies follow @YeleHaiti and @jmswfc
22:52 GMT
The tragedy has also struck United Nations staff members in Port-au-Prince. Some have already been evacuated and are being treated in the neighboring country of Dominican Republic.
The staff are currently being treated in Santo-Domingo – the nation’s capital in Hospital Central de las Fuerzas Armadas.
(Apologies, I looked, but I could not find any contact information about the hospital. Please contact the US Embassy in Santo-Domingo at Tel- 809-541-2171 or the consulate at Tel- 809-221-5511)
22:46 GMT
If you are looking to make a donation to help Haitians, please visit Yele Haiti here: http://www.yele.org/or you can follow them on Twitter @YeleHaiti.
In the midst of all the scams that are popping up to steal your money that should be going to Haitians, please make sure you only donate to recognized AID agencies. Do NOT donate to individuals unless they are affiliated with an AID agency and you can confirm it.
22:42 GMT
NPR News reports:
Haitian President Rene Preval called it a catastrophe and said he believed the death toll stretched into the thousands.
“If I look beyond the walls of the U.N. compound, there are bodies on the road, there are destroyed buildings, there are crashed cars,” David Wimhurst, spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping force in Haiti, told NPR. “If you go out into the city, the situation just gets worse and worse.”
NPR also confirmed as many other sources did that Haitian capital – which is the hardest hit by the earquake – Port-au-Prince’s airport was functional.
22:36 GMT
Aid agency OXFAM appeals for help and donations for Haiti’s victims:
22:33 GMT
The Haitian Parliament, the Presidential Palace and dozens of other government buildings in the capital have collapsed. This gives one an idea of how wide-spread the destruction in the country is going to be once full reports emerge.
22:31 GMT
So far the initial estimates from yesterday’s death toll in Haiti’s strongest earthquake in the past 200 years is staggering. Reports put the initial estimates at thousands but the number is estimated by many to be between 100,000 – 500,000 people dead.
The Haitian Capital Port-au-Prince is home to 2 million out of the total 9 million Haitians. Many live in slums where houses are built without any building requirements or health and safety regulations. Thousands of houses have so far collapsed.
i am looking for anyone that has information about delmas , haiti . we are looking for a family member
Hey guys, this good wook!
Thank you for taking the time to publish this information very useful!
i come from china ,Thank you for sharing!
Some time ago, I really needed to buy a car for my business but I did not have enough cash and couldn’t buy something. Thank heaven my comrade suggested to try to get the loan from banks. So, I acted so and used to be happy with my short term loan.
love converse , love yourself.
click here http://www.conversewu.com
love converse shoes,love yourself.
click here http://www.conversewu.com
Convenience for you to buy Cheap NFL Jerseys .
We have all kinds of NFL Jersey .
Would you like to have Cheap Football Jerseys .,.