Live-Blogging Haiti Earthquake January 20 (News from on the Ground)

For the Humanitarian Efforts LiveBlog Click Here

9:55 PM (Haitian Time)

Another amazing story of survival and miracles from today in Haiti. CNN’s AC360 reports:

A five-year-old boy named Monley was found alive in the rubble of his home today. His mother was killed and his father is missing. Monley was taken to a hospital where doctors say he has no broken bones, but he is suffering from severe dehydration.

Anderson was at the hospital when Monley arrived this afternoon. He got details on the rescue from his family.

“The uncle was actually searching through the rubble, looking for the dead body of his brother, this boy’s father. The uncle, with four of his friends, not some international search and rescue team, pulled out the little boy,” Anderson reported earlier today.

Read Full Entry by CLICKING HERE.

9:41 PM (Haitian Time)

One of the biggest challenges in Haiti has been to figure out just how many people have perished in the aftermath of the apocalyptic earthquake. So far, the numbers are blurry. Reports of total number of victims range from as low as 50,000 to as high as more than 200,000.

The New York Time has a great article on the challenges facing the Haitian government and the international relief agencies in figuring out how many lives have been lost.

The simple truth is that no accurate figure exists. In disasters like Hurricane Katrina, the 2004 Asian tsunami and the 2003 earthquake in Bam, Iran, the toll habitually swings way up at first, taking a couple of weeks to settle at a final, accepted number.

In countries like the United States or China, with vast resources to handle and count the dead, the numbers are likely to be more accurate than in a poor nation like Haiti, experts said.

The fact that the earthquake, with a magnitude of 7, devastated Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, virtually paralyzing a government that was hard-pressed to count the living in normal times, only compounded the problem.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the article.

9:05 PM (Haitian Time)

This time, hopeful tweets from Twitterer associated with Fireside International – a non-profit media company.

(In chronological order)

You can follow Fireside International’s work and get more information about them by CLICKING HERE.

7:45 PM (Haitian Time)

Some news via Twitter. Twitterers Brandt Anderson who is on the ground in Port-au-Prince and helping with relief efforts tweets about the misery that is continuing to engulf the lives of Haitians. However, the situation looks to be slowly improving – for some at least:

(Tweets start oldest first and ends with the latest one.)

- Just went to an orphanage where a newborn died as we arrived. It breaks your heart.

- Looks like the storm will not hit tonight. I cannot explain how fortunate that is for these good people.

- One man walked me down the hill to his home where his two kids were crushed. We both cried as he explained it to me in Creole.

7:24 PM (Haitian Time)

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton updates the media about the current situation in Haiti as well as efforts that are underway to help Haitians. She also has an update on the situation of Haitian orphans.

CLICK HERE to watch the video.

6:57 PM (Haitian Time)

More injured Haitians are being flown aboard US ships anchored along the Haitian coast by helicopter and given medical care. In this photo, Medical professional aboard the aboard the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) treat a six-year-old Haitian boy in the casualty receiving room aboard the 1,000-bed hospital ship. The boy transferred to Comfort by helicopter from the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) for treatment for an injury to his bladder and a hip fracture. The boy is in the intensive care unit aboard Comfort in stable condition. Comfort is supporting Operation Unified Response, a joint operation providing humanitarian assistance to Haiti. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Timothy Wilson/Released)

6:32 PM (Haitian Time)

Another miracle in Port-au-Prince. CNN’s Anderson Cooper reports on the survival of a 70 year old woman for a little over a week under tonnes of rubbles and her dramatic rescue. (Beware, the contents might be graphic to some viewers)

6:25 PM (Haitian Time)

A bit of more hopeful news from Canada yesterday. CDC reports:

The federal government announced Tuesday an additional $80 million for international emergency relief efforts in Haiti as Canadian troops began flying into the southern coastal town of Jacmel, bypassing the clogged airport in the devastated capital, Port-au-Prince.

International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda announced the additional funding for emergency food, water, sanitation, medical treatment, shelter and protection of vulnerable people. That brings the federal commitment to $135 million, including up to $50 million in matching funds for public donations to registered relief organizations. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said public donations exceed $30 million so far.

Canadian Forces personnel set to work in Jacmel, delivering food, water and medical assistance from HMCS Halifax offshore and through the DART — disaster assistance response team — which travelled from Port-au-Prince. The first soldiers also began arriving at the Jacmel airport.

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Updates for January 20 start from here. Below are updates from the last seven days.

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12:00 PM (Haitian Time)

The LA Times has another touching story of a rescue attempt in Haiti:

Newspapers in Mexico this morning carried a happy item about Mexican officials in Haiti finding one of their countrymen who had been missing in the ruins for nearly a week.

But the tale didn’t mention that it was Times correspondent Tracy Wilkinson who came across the victim and relayed his whereabouts to Mexican diplomatic officials here in Mexico City.

Carlos Peralta, a Spanish teacher living in Port-au-Prince, lay writhing in pain on a salvaged pew outside a church when Wilkinson found him Sunday while she was reporting on prayer services in the quake-ravaged city.

Read full entry by CLICKING HERE.

11:27 PM (Haitian Time)

Catch Pierre’s livestream with news and live updates from Haiti by clicking here.

11:00 PM (Haitian Time)

Fireside International has more pictures from the tragedy. You can access them by going here. They only ask for your email address, that’s all. CLICK HERE to visit the page. (Be warned, some of the images are going to be very disturbing to some people. Don’t view without understanding that and don’t pass along without a stern warning.)

10:52 PM (Haitian Time)

Search and rescue attempts at Port-au-Prince’s Caribbean Supermarket seemingly ends after seven days. There are people still trapped under the rubble, but hope for their survival has ends as this story from CNN explains.

There is also a video which I am posting:

10:26 PM (Haitian Time)

A little baby has his patched up in Port-au-Prince – his name, Obama – his savior, Dr. Jen.

8:43 PM (Haitian Time)

Amidst all the misery and heartbreak that has been Haiti’s capital for the past week, last night, something of a miracle happened for man and one woman in Port-au-Prince. This video is inspiring, hopeful and just flat out unbelievable:

8:18 PM (Haitian Time)

As more reports of looting arrive from Port-au-Prince, our sources from Twitter and other social media have been reporting that it is not as wide-spread as being portrayed by many mainstream media outlets. But since the situation on the ground is too fragile and reporters are unable to gather information from all parts of the city, it is hard to say what is really going on in the city.

Here’s a report from CNN’s Anderson Cooper on that issue from a couple of days ago. (Beware, the video has graphic images):

7:50 PM (Haitian Time)

The Associated Press sheds some light on Haiti’s situation a week after the quake hit. (I feel like it was just yesterday):

Even as U.S. troops landed in Seahawk helicopters Tuesday on the manicured lawn of the National Palace, the colossal efforts to help Haiti are proving inadequate because of the scale of the disaster and the limitations of the world’s governments. Expectations exceeded what money, will and military might have been able to achieve so far in the face of unimaginable calamity.

Rescue groups continue to work, even though time is running out for those buried by the quake. A Mexican team created after that nation’s 1985 earthquake rescued Ena Zizi, 69. She had survived a week buried in the ruins of the residence of Haiti’s Roman Catholic archbishop, who died. Other teams pulled two women from a collapsed university building.

“TENS OF THOUSANDS OF EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS NEED EMERGENCY SURGICAL CARE NOW!!!!!” said press a release from Partners in Health, co-founded by Dr. Paul Farmer, the deputy U.N. envoy to Haiti. “Our medical director has estimated that 20,000 people are dying each day who could be saved by surgery.” No details were provided on how the figure was determined.

To read the full report, CLICK HERE.

7:30 PM (Haitian Time)

Here’s an on the ground report from a relief worker. It is a personal report and not tailored for the media. The location is close to the epicenter of the earthquake:

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(Updates for January 19 start from here on up. Everything below is from past days)

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3:27 AM (Haiti Time)

More updates on Haitians trapped under the rubble even a week after the earthquake:

A source in Haiti posted this on their Facebook page:

Martine Peirre is still sending messages out! She is alive under the rubbles at Universite Caraibes at Delmas 29 with others send help

(Can someone help? Please?)

3:10 AM (Haiti TIme)

As the earthquake ruins more families and shatters more lives, the people of Port-au-Prince are forced to leave their homes and try to get as far away from the disaster zone as possibel. The New York Times reports on this tragic development:

“My only hope is to return to my family’s arms.”

Ms. Verly joined thousands of others, as the exodus from the capital accelerated on Monday, by boat, bus, car and truck, in uncertain quest for shelter, fresh water and stability in the countryside. They sought to leave an anarchic city marked by acute shortages of basic goods and aid efforts hampered by bottlenecks and security fears.

“I don’t know if I’m coming back,” said Marcelaine Calixte, 20, a student whose house and college had collapsed, sitting on a crowded bus Monday afternoon headed to Les Cayes, a southern town.

Read the whole story by CLICKING HERE.

2:26 AM (Haiti Time)

The long-term damage to Haiti is going to be staggering and the country will require much more help, as this report from Reuters suggests:

Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez proposed to international donors on Monday the creation of a $2 billion-a-year fund to finance for five years Haiti’s recovery from a devastating earthquake.

“We’d be talking about a five-year program of some $10 billion,” Fernandez told representatives of foreign governments and international financial institutions at a preliminary donors’ conference in Dominican Republic, Haiti’s neighbor on the island of Hispaniola.

2:08 AM (Haiti TIme)

TPM updates:

The FBI and the National Center for Disaster Fraud have created a hotline to report suspected Haitian earthquake relief fraud. The number is (866) 720-5721, and is staffed 24/7 by a live operator.

1:06 AM (Haitian Time)

After criticism from the French government and the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’ accusations that the US military was ‘occupying’ Haiti and that the US military role was inappropriate, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates today attempted to quell these fears. The Associated Press reports:

Gates said he does not foresee an expanded policing role for the United States, however. The United States is chiefly involved in distributing relief and will support the United Nations in providing security, Gates said. “I haven’t heard of us playing a policing role at any point.”

There are currently 1,000 U.S. troops in Haiti while 3,000 are helping out with relief efforts from aboard their navy ships. 12,000 more US forces are expected to land in Haiti soon.

This all comes at a time when:

A joint statement Saturday from the Haitian president and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton referred to an expanded U.S. security role.

“President Preval, on behalf of the Government and people of Haiti, welcomes as essential the efforts in Haiti by the government and people of the United States to support the immediate recovery, stability and long-term rebuilding of Haiti and requests the United States to assist as needed in augmenting security in support of the government and people of Haiti and the United Nations, international partners and organizations on the ground,” the document reads.

12:34 AM (Haitian Time)

Haiti Year 0, Day 7

After the Red Cross created a page to help find survivors and Google, Inc. released a tool to help in the same cause, CNN has now also created a web page to assist in the location of lost loved ones in Haiti.

You can visit their page by CLICKING HERE.

11:48 PM (Haitian TIme)

More reports coming in from Haiti give many hope of finding more survivors trapped under the rubble in the Caribbean Supermarket in Port-au-Prince. According to Twitter user firesideint, Haitians trapped beneath the walls of the market have been able to survive this long because they had access to some food and water that was entombed with them under the concrete and metal.

(Hopefully, more rescue workers will get there in time to help these people.)

11:31 PM (Haitian Time)

A reliable Twitter source firesideint tweets about the situation in Haiti, personal feelings and comments on news, (eye-opening):

(I’m posting the tweets as is, starting from the earliest to the latest)

- Just got back from Darbonne (epicenter). Passed about 12 UN relief vehicles LOADED with rice & supplies as we were leaving. YES!

- Aid is finally being delivered in mass quantity.

- Changed my underwear today. The first time in 5 days. Someone had given my other ones away. Thanks, Kent, for bringing new ones!

- I had a COMPLETE meltdown today. My first one. Very cathartic. Talked to my kids on phone. I popped.

- Found out that part of the delay is the reception of expired food & meds. @ airport, they have to sort through donated items first.

- Do not believe the hype. Things are relatively stable here. I’ve been in the thick of it. But I don’t have sponsors to please, do I?

- An earthquake moves adoptions along (http://bit.ly/8TeeIr). How bad do you have to be at your job to get bested by an earthquake?

- I am not sending out my family because we are scared of Haitians. Then why? We don’t need to be using up their precious resources.

- All we need is Love… and Transparency.

- Begging stopped when the earthquake hit. A few kids begged from me today. It’s nice to see things getting back to normal.

- The other night I got stuck downtown and asked a Haitian family for a ride. They declined but then gave me money to hire one. I was humbled.

- “Some are saying” often means there is no source. Any journalist worth his weight can hand over a direct source. Be critical.

10:38 PM (Haitian Time)

The New York Times has an emotional and eye-opening report on the current situation in Haiti. Their reporter talks to an 80-member urban search and rescue team from New York City, some of who worked on the wreckage of the World Trade Centers in 2001 during the rescue attempts:

One firefighter says:

“I can’t forget the smell of death from New York… and I can smell it right now. Sniff in the air. That’s it. Once it’s in your head it doesn’t come out.”

Another one tells the NY Times:

“At least in 9/11, you had a place to go to get away from the hole,” he said, preferring, like some others on the team, to speak anonymously in discussing personal feelings on such circumstances. “This is like 9/11 on the whole island of Manhattan. There’s nothing left. How are they going to come back after this? This place needs to be leveled. None of this is saveable.”

Looking at all the hungry people gathered around, he said: “Last time I’ll be throwing any food away at home. I’ll be looking at things a lot different when I get back.”

CLICK HERE to read the full article. (Can be mildly disturbing. No harrowing pictures, though.)

9:29 PM (Haitian Time)

We’ve all been fawning over CNN’s Sanjay Gupta for his heroic work in saving lives. But CNN’s Anderson Cooper, who is accompanying Gupta in Haiti, has also stepped up and proven that CNN’s correspondents can put their job aside and help out when it is needed.

Today, amidst the looting of shops in Port-au-Prince, Cooper walked in to save a little Haitian boy from a mob and carry him away from violence. I’m not posting the pictures here as they are disturbing. But you can CLICK HERE for the pictures and the full story.

8:55 PM (Haitian Time)

Situation in Haiti is growing more desperate by the minute. CNN reports on the looting and violence from inside the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince:

8:14 PM (Haitian Time)

The Boston Globe has released new images from the 6th day after the earthquake in Haiti:

7:43 PM (Haitian Time)

The death toll just keeps mounting in Haiti, the Associated Press reports:

The staggering scope of Haiti’s nightmare came into sharper focus Monday as authorities estimated 200,000 dead and 1.5 million homeless in the heart of this luckless land… “Have we been abandoned? Where is the food?” shouted one man, Jean Michel Jeantet, in a downtown street.

“I know that aid cannot come soon enough,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in New York after returning from Haiti.

“Unplug the bottlenecks,” he urged.

European Commission analysts estimate 250,000 were injured… Evidence of the shortfall could be found at a makeshift camp of 50,000 displaced people spread over a hillside golf course overlooking the city. Leaders there said the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division had been able to deliver food to only half of the people. American forces were to be reinforced by 2,000 Marines arriving off Haiti’s shores aboard three amphibious landing ships.

7:14 PM (Haitian Time)

More dramatic rescues from under the rubble in Haiti; looting and violence and more pictures. CNN reports:

… 6-year-old Jessica Hartelin was pulled from the rubble by local residents and rushed to a field hospital set up by Israelis at a Port-au-Prince soccer field. On Sunday, five people were rescued from the rubble of a grocery store, officials said, 24 hours after the effort to reach them began.

Three of the people trapped in the ruins of the Caribbean Supermarket — a man, a 13-year-old girl and a 50-year-old American woman — were rescued during the day by a joint New York fire and police department search-and-rescue team.

Earlier Monday, several hundred Haitians broke into a damaged supply store in downtown Port-au-Prince, looting it in a sign of growing desperation six days after an earthquake toppled much of the city. Fights broke out among some of the looters. Young men holding two-by-fours with nails hammered into them began attacking each other. CNN’s Anderson Cooper saw one man beaten until one of his arms started bleeding.

6:50 PM (Haitian Time)

Heads of different international organizations give a dire assessement of the situation in Haiti:

“Help has been arriving. More is coming in. But for those who have lost everything, I know that aid cannot come soon enough,” Ban Ki-moon told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York today, adding that the most important challenge is coordination of the relief effort.

“This disaster ranks among the most devastating and logistically challenging in recent history,” Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), said today. “We are seeing the difficulties that arise when disaster strikes an already disastrous public health situation.”

“It is vital that the response from the global humanitarian community matches the immense needs of the people of Haiti,” said Executive Director Josette Sheeran of the WFP. “Within the next week, WFP aims to move the equivalent of 10 million ready-to-eat meals so that people whose homes have been destroyed, and who have no access to cooking facilities can feed their families.”

6:26 PM (Haitian Time)

As night falls, Haiti’s capital looks like an agglomeration of refugee camps in a battle zone.

6:07 PM (Haitian Time)

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Updates for January 18 start from here on up.

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10:35 PM (Haitian Time)

CBS has an extremely informative video on the condition inside Haiti today. Please beware, the images are gut-wrenchingly depressing. Do not watch it if you have already seen enough. Best option is to fast forward the first 2/3s of the video.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

10:26 PM (Haitian Time)

The TimesOnline reports on medical challenges on the ground in Haiti and immigration hassles for Haitian children who are being evacuated to the US:

US immigration officials had been refusing to allow children into the country until next weekend. However, as Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State, arrived to assure Haitians that America stood ready to help “in any way we can”, doctors managed to persuade the US authorities to allow in Jean, a four-month-old Haitian girl for treatment. The orphaned child has cut through immigration rules used to bar entry to the US for Haitians even in extreme circumstances.

The charity Medishare had been considering defying US immigration by putting Jean physically in the giant hands of Alonzo Mourning, a basketball star, who has given millions to the charity and spent three days last week clearing rubbish in its tented clinic in Port-au-Prince. However, by Saturday night only 23 Haitians had been admitted to US hospitals.

Click Here to read the full entry. (The story is pretty disturbing, so caution is advised.)

9:54 PM (Haitian Time)

USAID updates on the humanitarian efforts, successes/failures in Haiti. Their estimate of deaths overall is 65,000:

Key Developments

- As of 1700 hours local time on January 17, U.S. Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams had rescued 30 individuals from collapsed buildings, including one individual rescued at approximately 1615 hours local time and three individuals rescued overnight from the Caribbean Market. To date, international USAR teams have rescued a total of 62 individuals throughout Port-au-Prince.

- On January 17, USAID/OFDA, in coordination with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), facilitated the delivery to Port-au-Prince of 9,600 10-liter water containers to serve 19,200 people, 3,840 hygiene kits to benefit 19,200 people for two weeks, and 200 rolls of plastic sheeting to meet the shelter needs of 10,000 people.

- To date, USAID/OFDA has provided nearly $63.3 million in humanitarian assistance to Haiti, including a total of $22 million committed on January 17 to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the U.N. World Health Organization (WHO), and the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) to support emergency relief supply distributions, emergency health interventions, and humanitarian air service and logistics.

- On January 17, a ship carrying 2,100 metric tons (MT) of P.L. Title II emergency food assistance provided by USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) arrived in Port-au-Prince. USAID coordinated closely with the U.S. military to ensure safe passage of the vessel through the port and to provide security for the vessel and crew.

To read the rest of the report, Click Here.

9:43 PM (Haitian Time)

USAID released a new map, showing the intensity of the earthquake in Haiti. As it is too large, I’m simply going to link to it and you can check out on your browser.Disturbingly, even though the earthquake was over 10 miles away from Port-au-Prince, the capital has still been reduced to rubble.

Click Here to see the map.

9:20 PM (Haitian Time)

More compassion for Haiti. CNN iReport updates:

The Italian government will cancel Haiti’s debt of 40 million Euros, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini announced in Rome today.

“We are ready from now to cancel Haiti’s debt to Italy,” Frattini said on his arrival at Rome’s Ciampino airport after returning from a mission in Africa.

The cancellation, he said, may represent a “first step for the beginning of reconstruction” of the Caribbean island devastated by the earthquake that has claimed tens of thousands dead. Italy has already announced a shipment of five million euros to aid necessities.

(Hopefully, more countries will join in soon.)

9:01 PM (Haitian Time)

CNN’s Soledad O’Brien reports from Haiti:

I spent the day in a tent city. Folks are calm but definitely stressed. They all mention the lack of food and it seems there’s no organized system for getting it in this tent city that has grown, in this one part of Port au Prince.

We estimated more than 20 thousand people are in around this park alone. And this is just one of what must be dozens… Some of the camps are massive and sprawling. Some small and contained.

The big problem in the tent city, besides the food: the injuries. The survivors languish in a hot sun, covered by sheets and blankets on clotheslines. They huddle–entire families–in these encampments, waiting.

“How long will you wait,” I ask?
“It’s up to God,” many tell me.

To read the full entry, click here.

8:24 PM (Haitian Time)

Care Pedre yet again has invaluable news and a cry for help. Rescuers need to react to these pleas as they are the only reliable way of finding more survivors:

In Bel-Air area, there are 7 nuns still alive under the rubbles. They were praying with their students in the chapel. They need HELP!

If you know someone who can help, please contact Carel on Twitter. He has more information about more survivors too.

8:03 PM (Haitiain Time)

Against all odds and days of hunger, thirst and bleeding, people are still alive, trapped under the rubble in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Twitter users continue to plead for rescuers to pay more attention to Hotel Montana where there’s said to be several people still trapped – but alive:

rachellehoude

Haiti, Need: trapped in rubble name: Liliana Rivera SANDRA #location Hotel Montana #note talking and asking

And in more good news, International Medical Corps reports:

We’ve now triaged all 1,500 patients at the general hospital in Port-au-Prince.

7:56 PM (Haitian Time)

More hopeful news! Four critically injured Haitians flown to Pennsylvania, US are all recovering except for one who is in critical condition:

7:29 PM (Haitian Time)

Two days ago, I reported about the US 802 Airborne arriving in Haiti. Today, I got word that they are doing a heroic job. Anyone who has a son or daughter serving in the 802 Airborne deserves to be proud. Here’s a tweet from a reliable twitterer from inside Haiti describing their work:

thehaitian

The 82nd Airborne showed up and were amazing. The medics had supplies and did IV’s and general security…they were just patroling

7:19 PM (Haitian Time)

More hopeful news as we all need some of that right now. NBC shows the rescue of survivors from underneath a market in Haiti:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

6:19 PM (Haitian Time)

More reports of survivors still trapped under the rubble. Haitian journalist Carel Pedre tweets:

Paule Cameau is Still alive under the rubbles at 8 Rue Oswald Durand. Save her life.

5:56 PM (Haitian Time)

President Barack Obama is going to use the Army Reserve to help speed up the recovery effort in Haiti, the Washington Post reported:

President Barack Obama has issued an order allowing selected members of the military’s reserves to be called up to support earthquake relief and recovery operations in Haiti.

5:46 PM (Haitian Time)

Another glimmer of hope. Twitter user fredodupoux reports:

just got back from the grand rue. the LA search and rescue team saved a 18yo girl from the rubbles.

5:11 PM (Haitian Time)

Great news for Haitian immigrants facing legal issues in Canada. Citizenship and Immigration Canada released a statement yesterday that gives many in the Haitian community there hope:

Canada will expedite immigration applications from Haitians with family in this country, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today. Haitians in Canada temporarily will also be allowed to extend their stay.

Effective immediately, priority will be given to new and existing sponsorship applications from Canadian citizens, permanent residents and protected persons who have close family members in Haiti. They must, however, identify themselves as being directly and significantly affected by the current situation and notify Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). Priority consideration will also be given to pending adoption cases with the visa office in Port-au-Prince.

Read full statement by click here.

(Thank you for the compassion, Canada!)

4:49 PM (Haitian Time)

The US Navy has updates on their work in Haiti:

USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) is currently off the coast of Port-Au-Prince, Haiti conducting humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations along with USS Higgins (DDG 76), USS Underwood (FFG 36), and USS Normandy (CG 60). These units are providing assistance with H-53 Sea Stallion and H-60 Seahawk sea-based helicopters. Higgins, homeported in San Diego, is providing afloat logistical services for U.S. Coast Guard helicopters participating in relief efforts.

Carl Vinson received seven injured Haitian civilians at approximately 7:30 p.m. EST Jan. 16 when a Coast Guard MH-60J Jayhawk helicopter on a MEDEVAC mission was forced to divert due to weather. Carl Vinson medical personnel are currently treating the seven Haitians, including an infant. The helicopter was taking the earthquake victims from Port-Au-Prince to a hospital near Cape Haitien on the island’s northern coast.

To date, more than 75,000 bottles of water were delivered to Haitian civilians as part of relief efforts Jan. 16. Every opportunity is being taken to bring this needed commodity ashore.

4:32 PM (Haitian Time)

CBC has a new update on security and hospitals in Port-au-Prince:

The World Health Organization said eight hospitals in Port-au-Prince were destroyed or damaged when the 7.0-magnitude quake hit on Jan. 12. The largest hospital in the city, l’Hôpital Général, was functioning but was overwhelmed by fatalities and casualties on the weekend, according to World Vision. A number of donor countries have set up field hospitals to take the pressure off very limited medical resources.

Security is also a logistical nightmare in Haiti. The country has no army and its police force has all but collapsed. About 2,000 international troops and police are maintaining law and order in Port-au-Prince. Some of a 1,000-strong Canadian Forces contingent expected to arrive early in the coming week are to assist in the task. On Sunday, the bodies of two men could be seen on the street with their hands tied up after being shot by unidentified men who accused them of looting in the Delmas area of Port-au-Prince.

4:24 PM (Haitian Time)

As search and rescue operations continued, amidst hope, there is a grim reality – the loss of life is staggering. ABC reports:

International search-and-rescue teams have pulled more than 70 people from the rubble of Haiti’s earthquake — a record for urban search-and-rescue missions following such a disaster, the U.N. claimed.

But though limited food, water and medical supplies finally are reaching victims in desperate need, Haiti’s prime minister said at least 70,000 dead bodies have been collected. And some unofficial estimates of the death toll have ranged between 150,000 and 200,000.

According to the U.N., 40 international teams containing nearly 1,800 rescue workers and more than 160 dogs, will not stop until the job is done.

3:42 PM (Haitian Time)

FOX News confirmed today that at least 16 American citizens have lost their lives in Haiti’s devastating earthquake:

Sixteen Americans are confirmed dead in the wake of Tuesday’s devastating earthquake in Haiti, the US state department said Sunday.The victims include 15 private American citizens and one US government employee, the department said.The US Embassy in Haiti, meanwhile, has reported that at least 70 Americans remain unaccounted for.

3:37 PM (Haitian Time)

Even after almost five days, people are still being pulled out from under the rubble in Haiti. The latest survivor is Isabel Azou, 58, who was pulled out by Delray Beach fire department and the Rapid Latino America Search and Rescue Team.

Sadly, her three children are still trapped under the rubble and presumed to have died in the tragedy. (I do not want to post the picture here because it is far too graphic and hope is what we all need at this hour.)

3:36 PM (Haitian Time)

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has reportedly landed in Port-au-Prince moments ago with other officials on a brief visit.He will be only staying in Haiti for a few hours.

So far, there are little details about his visit out. Will update as soon as I have more.

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End Updates for January 16

2:15 AM (Haitian Time)

I will resume live-blogging tomorrow. For now, good night and good luck.

1:32 AM (Haitian Time)

More cries for help at Hotel Montana now. Twitter users from Haiti are repeatedly calling for rescuers to divert more attention to this establishment. According to them, they have been in touch with some people who are still trapped under the rubble.

Help needed!

1:22 AM (Haitian Time)

Desperate cries for help from the Caribbean Supermarket in the Haitian capital through cell phones. Many people on Twitter and on alternative media continue to try and get rescuers attention to this part of town where many people might still be trapped and alive.

One twitterer reports:

msymharris

DO NOT LEAVE CARRIBEAN SUPERMARKET people stuck under rubble! they texting Aldopho Prato by freezers, CARRIBEAN MARKET

12:51 AM (Haitian Time)

The BBC reports:

Senegal’s president says he will offer free land and “repatriation” to people affected by the earthquake in Haiti. “The president is offering voluntary repatriation to any Haitian that wants to return to their origin,” said Mr Wade’s spokesman, Mamadou Bemba Ndiaye.

The spokesman emphasised that if a region was given, it would be in a fertile part of the country rather than in its parched deserts, the Associated Press news agency reported.

(Let’s try and help Haitians in Haiti – I think.)

12:45 AM (Haitian Time)

CNN shows footage of food distribution and the frenzy that follows (Disturbing to some viewers).

12:34 AM (Haitian Time)

More reports of gunshots being heard in Port-au-Prince:

Twitter user fredodupoux reports:

exchanging gun shots can still be heard and most of the people are sleeping outside.

12:18 AM (Haitian Time)

The Sacramento Bee has released new aerial images of the Haitian capital. Here are some of them:

12:00 PM (Haitian Time)

A video from yesterday and last night on CNN. (The images are VERY VERY disturbing. Please DO NOT watch and DO NOT pass it along without a VERY stern warning.)

11:49 PM (Haitian Time)

FOX News reports on more people being rescued from under the rubble.

11:30 PM (Haitian Time)

The Associated Press reports:

Rescuers recovered the body of veteran diplomat Hedi Annabi, who was in charge of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti when the earthquake struck and collapsed the U.N. headquarters building, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced Saturday. Ban said the bodies of Annabi’s deputy, Luiz Carlos da Costa, and the mission’s acting police commissioner, Doug Coates, were also found.

11:18 PM (Haitian Time)

The Haitian government claims that they have buried more than 20,000 people so far and many more people remain to be buried. So the death toll for now is at least confirmed to be 20,000. The number is most probably going to go much higher.

The Wall Street Journal Reports:

…Mr. Préval came in a jeep and gave an impromptu press conference. Asked about the death toll, Mr. Préval said, “There are schools collapsed – 200 or 300 [dead] here. Factories collapsed – 1,000 [dead] there. I couldn’t even hazard a guess at the figure.”

Coordinating aid is no small task. The prime minister, Mr. Bellerive, said the government believes 300,000 families are living on the streets of the capital. The top priority is relocating people to places where they can better get them food and water, he said.

He said the government has taken over two private water-treatment plants and is beginning to send water to the capital in 50 trucks. He said that in about a week he expects the government will be distributing 600,000 gallons of water a day in the capital.

11:08 PM (Haitian Time)

Twitter user joshuahaynes reports more hopeful news:

heard from friend in #haiti that people in the caribbean supermarket in Delmas are texting that they are alive and trapped in the rubble.

10:59 PM (Haitian Time)

The Associated Press reports from Port-au-Prince:

In a fresh estimate, the Pan American Health Organization said 50,000 to 100,000 people perished in the quake. Bellerive said 100,000 would “seem to be the minimum.” Truckloads of corpses were being trundled to mass graves.

A U.N. humanitarian spokeswoman declared the quake the worst disaster the international organization has ever faced, since so much government and U.N. capacity in the country was demolished. In that way, Elisabeth Byrs said in Geneva, it’s worse than the cataclysmic Asian tsunami of 2004: “Everything is damaged.”

But for the estimated 300,000 newly homeless in the streets, plazas and parks of Port-au-Prince, help was far from assured. “They’re already starting to deliver food and water, but it’s mayhem. People are hungry, everybody is asking for water,” said Alain Denis, a resident of the Thomassin district.

(I covered the Asian Tsunami and believe me, I personally have not been around to witness something more horrific than this.)

10:41 PM (Haitian Time)

Reports coming in through the social media speak of severe shortages of water, food, medicine and fuel. Currently the most important item for Haitians is water. Reports of survivors remaining thirsty of hours are emerging not just on social media, but on mainstream media as well.While videos of people going through empty cardboard boxes to find any traces of food were being shown on CNN.

On Twitter user complained:

thehaitian

Fuel!Running out. Have an ER doc from Boston. No RedCross. Just came by bus. Have 2 get him2hospital inAM but no fuel.

10:35 PM (Haitian Time)

Save the Children has a new blog post on the situation of children in Haiti:

Our first stop was to the General Hospital in the center of town – this is one of the only “functioning” hospitals.

The scene there was dire in terms of the huge needs. Patients overflowed from the hospital building and were lying in the compound awaiting treatment. The hospital is still receiving patients but they are chronically short of supplies and staff.

When we left the hospital we saw two makeshift camps where people had gathered. In one there with 5,000 people and only four latrines.  All of these latrines were already full so no longer in use.

Click Here to read full entry.

10:32 PM (Haitian Time)

A reliable source in Haiti reports:

fredodupoux

I hear gun shots in freres…

This is the second time that gunshots are being reported from the Haitian capital. There is not real confirmation of these events from the mainstream media, but Twitter sources inside Haiti have been very reliable as far as news goes so far. Worrying signs emerging, slowly.

10:29 PM (Haitian Time)

Video of Hillary Clinton speaking at Port-au-Prince airport:

“We will be here today, tomorrow and for the time ahead.”

Click Here to watch it on CNN

09:44 PM (Haitian Time)

New pictures of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Haiti, meeting with President Rene Preval, answering questions and visiting victims of the earthquake.

Click Here to visit the page.

09:32 PM (Haitian Time)

Disturbing tweets coming in from Port-au-Prince:

Haitian Journalis t Carel Padre reports: 

More than 3000 dangerous criminals in the streets of port-au-prince for less than 2000 police! insecurity is rising!

Twitter user sheiv87 reports:

friend said that her aunt was on the phone with her,prisoners r shooting at people at rue colette ROUTES FRERERS, fone died.

(I cannot confirm this information at this hour. But there have been reports all day that tensions are running high in Port-au-Prince. Hopefully, with the arrival of US and international troops, the security situation could be under control sooner.)

08:30 PM (Haitian TIme)

The US Air Force is flying over Haiti, assessing the damage to the Haitian capital:

The RQ-4 Global Hawk’s photos are providing critical assessment data for earthquake recovery efforts and will inform the U.S. military where they can position assets, Air Force Col. Bradley G. Butz told reporters during a “DoDLive” bloggers roundtable today. Butz is vice commander of the 480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing at Langley Air Force Base, Va.

The Global Hawk flew 14 hours yesterday and will log another 16 hours today, providing about 2,000 images of some 1,000 targets, Butz said. “I think we have pretty good coverage of the entire situation and across the spectrum of capabilities,” he added.

The priority is to capture the condition of key infrastructure such as airstrips, bridges and ports throughout the country, where relief agencies may be able to gain entrance to reach injured and trapped people. The clarity of the high-altitude images is good enough, Butz said, “to determine a go [or] no-go,” for the use of airport facilities.

Click Here for full story.

08:22 PM (Haitian Time)

Réseau de l’information in Canada reports staggering estimates of casualties in Haiti:

“The bleak tally now at 50,000 dead, 250,000 injured and 1.5 million homeless…”

08:08 PM (Haitian Time)

Woman rescued by Red Cross:

Jesula was just rescued after she was trapped under a collapsed university building in Petionville for 5 days. A Red Cross worker was in the ambulance with her.

08:00 PM (Haitian Time)

Haitian Twitterati are trying to get help to where it is needed frantically:

Anita5446

MOSCTHA is sending a grp to Haiti next wk -seeking surgeons+ orthopedic docs. C their FB pg http://bit.ly/91zaFW

rqskye

Hospital@ MIREBALAIS Cntrl Plateau 61 km frm PAP w/ injured patients, no power, fuel 4 generator&patient transport.
rqskye

Carole Cave seekng Alexandra,Marjorie,Marise,Érickson, Richard Cavé.Marotière 81 rue Bruno 7 Carrefour.RSVP 2 CC @ FB.

cnnireport

Please send Some Water to the God’s Littlest Angels Orphanage here is their location http://bit.ly/7TWpGs

Amids all the bad news, there are again glimmers of hope:

MirelaMonte

We finally found Lovelie Versiere, she is alive but injured.
The United States Coast Guard reports more hopeful news:

An Air Station Clearwater, Fla., helicopter crew aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma assisted in the delivery of a Haitian newborn on the cutter Saturday afternoon. A pregnant Haitian citizen went into labor on the flight deck as the helicopter was refueling aboard the cutter. The rescue swimmer from Coast Guard HH-60 helicopter CG6024 then delivered the child. (Both mother and child are out of danger.)

07:55 PM (Haitian Time)

US doing everything it can to help Haiti, Time reports:

Only the U.S. military has enough aluminum matting to boost the runway capacity of Port-au-Prince airport. Only the U.S. military has the surveillance capability to quickly assess additional Haitian airfields and seaports for use in rescue relief operations. Only the U.S. military has the wide variety of vessels and aircraft to utilize those fields and ports, including air-cushioned vehicles capable of ferrying 60 tons of supplies from ship to shore at 40 knots.

But the limits of U.S. capability can also be seen: The Pentagon diverted an unmanned Global Hawk drone bound for Afghanistan to Haiti instead, to photograph the damage there. “We were about to send that Global Hawk over to the war” until the earthquake, explained Air Force Col. Bradley Butz. “It will stay here until the President says it’s time to send it forward.”

06:55 PM (Haitian Time)

NJ.com has hopeful news about Americans trapped in Haiti as many are being evacuated:

Five cargo planes of evacuees have arrived at the base in the last 24 hours, delivering some 430 evacuees, primarily American citizens, many of them of Haitian descent.

Survivors were met on the tarmac by Creole-speaking interpreters from the Willingboro-based Haitian Foundation of New Jersey and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, before being ferried to a makeshift shelter set up in the base’s main gymnasium. Evacuees were examined by a doctor, given warm clothing and offered mental health counseling.

06:46 PM (Haitian Time)

Bloomberg has more details on Sec. Clinton’s visit to Port-au-Prince:

“We are here at the invitation of your government to help you,” Clinton said, addressing the people of Haiti. “As President Obama has said, we will be here today, tomorrow and for the time ahead.”

Speaking to reporters on the plane before arriving in Haiti, Clinton said she is hopeful that the Haitian Parliament will issue an emergency decree to give the government the authority to impose curfews and to delegate relief responsibility to aid groups and foreign government workers who are on the ground.

Apparently, the joint communique will be released tomorrow by Pres. Preval and Sec. Clinton.

Haiti journalist Carel Pedre reports a touching statement by Clinton:

“We will be in Haiti today, tomorrow and forever.”

06:41 PM (Haitian Time)

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Haitian President Rene Preval have released a joint statement which I will be updating here on soon. News has also arrived that the plane carrying Sec. Clinton was also carrying tonnes of supplies bound for Haiti.

06:39 PM (Haitian Time)

Emotional news continues to pour out of Haiti:

Twitter user InternertHaiti reports:

Aa group of Dominicans in a pickup. No UN. No Red Cross. Crossed border w/bread, water to give away.

06:35 PM (Haitian Time)

More Americans are headed to Haiti to help:

In the continued effort to use all assets available within the Department of Defense, the U.S. Southern Command is sending a special Air Force medical team to help the people in Haiti.

Within the next 24 hours, an Expeditionary Medical Support, or EMEDS, team will be arriving to provide for more much-needed medical support to those awaiting medical care after the devastating 7-pointer that left Haiti helpless in its quake, Jan 12.

To read the rest of the story click here.

05:46 PM (Haitian Time)

CNN reports:

The United Nations has now confirmed that its top diplomats in Haiti are among the victims of Haiti’s earthquake. UN Special Representative Hédi Annabi and his deputy Luiz Carlos da Costa are now confirmed to be dead.

05: 28 PM (Haitian Time)

NPR has just released the video of a dramatic rescue. A pregnant woman in Port-au-Prince is rescued from under the rubble after almost three days of being trapped:

05:07 PM (Haitian Time)

After Pat Robertson’s idiotic and inhuman comments about Haiti a few days ago, Satan decided to write him a letter which the Minneapolis Star-Tribune decided to publish.

“Sure, in the afterlife, but when I strike bargains with people, they first get something here on earth — glamour, beauty, talent, wealth, fame, glory, a golden fiddle. Those Haitians have nothing, and I mean nothing. And that was before the earthquake. Haven’t you seen “Crossroads”? Or “Damn Yankees”?”

Click Here full letter.

06:35 PM (Haitian Time)

More pictures from the ground in Haiti have arrived, showing just how destructive nature has been to Haiti. (Beware, some of the pictures are very disturbing. Do not pass them around without a warning.)

Courtesy of JLA Forums

Pictures Set 1

Pictures Set 2

06:25 PM (Haitian Time)

05:49 PM (Haitian Time)

Tracy Kidder of Partners in Health speaks to Rachel Maddow about the catastrophe in Haiti. It is perhaps one of the most honest assessments of what is going on in Haiti and what has been going on in Haiti. He does get a bit political in the end:

Click Here To Watch Video

06:39 GMT

As images and footage from the Haitian capital comes in in trickles, Google has stepped in to help concerned citizens get a better view of what the destruction has brought upon the people of Haiti.

They have updated Google Earth so that the damage to buildings in Port-au-Prince is visible from a bird’s eye view. You can visit Mashable’s link and learn how you can use the tool to view the updated version.

05:46 GMT

FOX News speaks with an American missionary Joel Tremble in Haiti and shows videos and images from Haiti’s capital. (Images are very disturbing.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz4-556tAR8

05:24 GMT

Hundreds of pictures from the calamity that has struck Haiti on Yahoo News!

(Caution is advised. Some of the photos are EXTREMELY disturbing. Do not pass them on without a stern warning.)

Please click here to go to their page.

04:38 GMT

Haitian tweeter @ RAMhaiti tweets news:

Started to do some shopping today to feed journalists.Someone opened a market for us.one of few not damaged.

Communication is frustrating.Can’t reach people in Jacmel to get news.Can’t reach people around PauP.People are still remarkably calm

Workers trickling in,so many have lost their homes,all their belongings.How many have lost family,home,job,neighbors? Now what? Stay?

I’m hearing that they’re stacking up bodies along Nazon.I saw picture of a morgue and it was a blanket of bodies.Got some help at St Gerard!

if you send people to the stadium,they’re going to need some basics.if you send people to ChampMars,they’re going to need some basics.Water?

I’m finally able to get to my office.many journalists.internet is getting a bit slow.Bodies in piles.bodies along the road.body committees..

I don’t hear as much singing and praying tonight but I do hear planes in the distance.Help is on the wayThere were approx 2 million in PauP

04:19 GMT

Twitter user @TroyLiveSay reports that people are still being found alive under the rubble. He reports that some people have been found alive in Port-au-Prince’s market. There is no news yet of other survivors from other sources. Hopefully, more will be rescued soon.

03:49 GMT

Wyclef Jean – Haitian-born American musician speaks from Port-au-Prince Aiport. Jean emotionally appeals to the world to help Haiti.

Click Here

03:36 GMT

A video from Haiti showing just SOME of the devastation. It’s easy to see what the rest of the capital looks like when you see concrete walls crumbling.

Click here to watch

03:25 GMT

Roberto Stephenson posts pictures of the devastation that has been caused by the earthquake in Haiti’s capital. Please follow this link to see the images.

(Caution: Some of the images are very disturbing so be careful before you click and view or pass the link around to other people.)

03:10 GMT

Reuters reports from Haiti:

Fourteen guests and workers are pulled alive from the landmark Montana Hotel, which was largely flattened. 70 more remain trapped.

Finding and helping survivors is the first priority, but Haitians are having to dig through the rubble with their hands, with little help from specialist teams.

(Just a note: there are still hundreds of people trapped under the rubble – possibly thousands.)

Telecommunications charity Telecoms Sans Frontieres is providing support. Communications will also improve as more aid workers and foreign journalists arrive with satellite telephones. The World Food Programme (WFP) said it was airlifting 86 metric tonnes of high-energy biscuits – enough for half a million emergency meals – from a hub in El Salvador.

The United States was sending 3,500 soldiers and 300 medical personnel to help with disaster relief and security in the devastated Caribbean capital, with the first of those scheduled to arrive on Thursday. The Pentagon was also sending an aircraft carrier and three amphibious ships, including one that can carry up to 2,000 Marines.

02:47 GMT

TPM has more updates on the number of casualties.

On MSNBC a few moments ago, Al Roker said he spoke with the Haitian president, who told him that Haiti has already buried 7,000 people.

The director of Port-au-Prince’s General Hospital said today that at least 1,500 bodies were stacked inside and outside the morgue at his hospital.

02:33 GMT

TPM Reports:

Members of the US 82nd Airborne are on the ground in Port-au-Prince.  So are Los Angeles and Fairfax search and rescue teams, according to an update from the White House. Three aircraft landed today with search and rescue teams, and five more are expected to land this evening, carrying rescue teams, dogs, medical supplies and pallets. The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson arrives tomorrow with 19 helicopters.

TPM adds:

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced today that 250 of its people are deploying to Haiti and a total of more than 12,000 may eventually assist.

The medical teams include doctors, nurses, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, emergency medical and surgical physicians, and other medical personnel. These personnel will be accompanied by 22,000 pounds of medical equipment and supplies. In addition, experts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will assist with checking the water and food supply.

02:11 GMT

The UN is now reporting that at least three dozen of its staffers in the Haitian capital have died. The number is most probably going to rise as new reports emerge.

On the streets of Haiti, people are hungry, thirsty, sick, injured and dying. People desperately need clean drinking water, food, medical supplies and tents.

ABCNews reports that people have built roadblocks from the bodies of their dead friends and relatives, angry over aid has not reached people yet. The scenes are described by some twitter users as ‘horrific’ and ‘heart-breaking’.

Even though so far $5.9 million have been gathered through SMS services, people in Port-au-Prince are in desperate need of direct aid. As the night falls, more and more people are suffering through nature’s misery, waiting for the world to reach out to them.

00:08 GMT

The Wall Street Journal reports key facts about US efforts in Haiti at the moment:

- Haiti’s main airport in Port-au-Prince is now fully operational.

- President Obama has pledged an initial donation of $100 million for Haiti.

- The US is also actively evacuating US nationals stuck in Haiti

23:52 GMT

International Medical Corp releases photos of victims being treated for injuries in Port-au-Prince.

Link here

23:15 GMT

CaribNews has more updates on the situation in Haiti:

“The Hospital in Jimani, Dominican Republic has become the first stop for the wounded in Haiti. http://tinyurl.com/yc3v9ty

The US State Department has confirmed the first American death in Haiti. At least 164 US citizens have been evacuated since the quake hit.”

CNN earlier quoted UN Secretary General Ban-ki Moon saying that at least 150 UN staff members remained unaccounted for in the wake of the tragedy.

23:08 GMT

Disturbing news has emerged of looting and rioting in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. CBS news reports, “Video footage from the city showed bands of Haitian youths armed with machetes wandering the streets looting, as the local police were largely invisible.

“There is no other way to get provisions,” he told The Associated Press. “Even if you have money, those resources are going to be exhausted in a few days.” But some think the looting is becoming a more serious threat.

“It is dangerous at night. Lootings were widespread and some markets were ransacked,” Oxfam spokesman Cedric Perus said in a statement to the AP. And the problem will likely get worse in the absence of more effective relief.

22:44 GMT

Pictures related to Haiti:

- Pictures from on the ground in Port-au-Prince:

(Reminder, these pictures are extremely disturbing. Please make sure you click knowing that you will be seeing dead bodies and horrific scenes of destruction. Don’t pass them on without a warning.)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34845446/from/ET/

- The Huffington Post has pictures of the Haitian capital and the destruction that has been caused by the earthquake.

- Injured Americans arriving at Guantanamo Bay after being rescued from Haiti: http://twitpic.com/y2cmy

22:13 GMT

Initial estimates for the death toll are hard to come by. The BBC reports that up to 50,000 people may have lost their lives. Reports coming in from Haiti suggest that thousands of bodies are in hospital morgues while more are awaiting to be picked up from the roads and outside hospitals in Port-au-Prince. There is no reliable information regarding the casualties of the earthquake just yet.The death toll is certainly going to rise higher and higher as the days go by.

22:05 GMT

CARE reports that the main airport at Santo-Domingo, Dominican Republic is overloaded with help arriving from all corners of the world for victims of Haiti’s earthquake.

21:41 GMT

Several sources claiming that the situation in Port-au-Prince so far is pretty calm. However, there are unconfirmed reports that tensions might be rising. No such report could be verified at all.

21:34 GMT

Click here to watch the video: On the Way:

The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson, is underway and expected to arrive off the coast of Haiti Thursday.  The ship has 19 helicopters aboard.

The USS Bataan Amphibious Ready Group is set to deploy to Haiti.  The group includes USS Bataan, USS Fort McHenry, USS Carter Hall and the 2,200-person 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit.  The ships will also include an assortment of helicopters (#’s not finalized)

Two additional ships, USS Underwood and USS Normandy are also headed to help. The hospital ship USNS Comfort is also preparing to deploy. SOUTHCOM is closely monitoring the situation and is working with the U.S. State Department, United States Agency for International Development and the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance and other national and international agencies to determine how to best respond to this crisis.

21:32 GMT

The Associated Press reports:

“Planes carrying teams from China, France and Spain flew into the Port-au-Prince airport with searchers and tons of food, medicine and other supplies — with far more promised soon from around the globe.

Search and rescue squads from Iceland and Fairfax County, Virginia, had arrived the day before and some groups — from Cuba’s government and Doctors Without Borders — used staff already in the country to offer aid immediately after the magnitude-7 quake struck on Tuesday.”

The report adds that there is an immediate need for efforts to provide water and food to the survivors as well as more medical teams.

21:24 GMT

TPM also reported an hour-long meeting the US president held in the White House Situation Room:

“The President met with senior civilian and military personnel who are coordinating our relief efforts in Haiti. The meeting was held in the White House Situation room from 7:15-8:20pm. The President received a comprehensive briefing from each of the agencies, including the State Department, USAID, DoD, JCS, SOUTHCOM, and USUN. Each leader discussed the resources that have reached Haiti, and the additional resources that are on their way.

21:21 GMT

US President Barack Obama has been working round the clock to help the survivors of the horrific Haiti earthquake.

TPM Reports:

“President Obama spoke with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, President Lula of Brazil, Prime Minister Harper of Canada, President Calderon of Mexico, President Bachelet of Chile, and the U.S. Ambassador to Haiti, Ken Merten, about the on-going efforts to assist Haiti in the wake of yesterday’s earthquake.”

However, so far, he has been unable to speak to President Rene Preval of Haiti.