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Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
http://mobile.reuters.com/mobile/m/F...60B5IZ20100114
I'm on Blackberry - can someone paster the text for me? |
Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
Troops, food headed for Haiti as quake toll soars
By Tom Brown and Andrew Cawthorne PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Troops and planeloads of food and medicine trickled in to Haiti on Thursday to aid a traumatized nation still rattled by aftershocks from the catastrophic earthquake that flattened homes and government buildings and buried countless people. The Haitian Red Cross said it believed 45,000 to 50,000 people had died and 3 million more were hurt or left homeless by the major 7.0 magnitude quake that hit Haiti's capital on Tuesday. Many people were believed to be still trapped alive in the rubble Heavy aircraft had begun to ferry in aid but the influx had yet to reach shell-shocked Haitians who silently wandered the broken streets of Port-au-Prince, searching desperately for water, food and medical help. "Money is worth nothing right now, water is the currency," one foreign aid-worker told Reuters. Looters swarmed a broken supermarket in the Delmas area of Port-au-Prince, peacefully carrying out electronics and bags of rice. Others siphoned gasoline from a wrecked tanker. "All the policemen are busy rescuing and burying their own families," said tile factory owner Manuel Deheusch. "They don't have the time to patrol the streets." 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. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged long-term U.S. help for the crippled Haitian government. Parliament, the national palace, and many government buildings collapsed and it was unclear how many lawmakers and officials survived. The main prison also fell, allowing dangerous criminals to escape. "The authorities that existed before the earthquake are not able to fully function. We're going to try to support them as they re-establish authority," Clinton told CNN. SURVIVORS DUG OUT There were still no signs of organized rescue operations to free those trapped in debris or remove bodies, and doctors in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, were ill-equipped to treat the injured. Survivors feared returning to their precarious homes and slept overnight in open areas where groups of women sang traditional religious songs in the dark and prayed for the dead. "They sing because they want God to do something. They want God to help them. We all do," said Hotel Villa Creole employee Dermene Duma, who lost four relatives. Foreigners slept around the hotel's pool while scores of injured and dying people lay outside. Sobs and wailing were heard throughout the night but aftershocks interrupted the mourning, sending panicked people running away from the walls. The quake's epicenter was only 10 miles from Port-au-Prince, a sprawling and densely packed city of 4 million people in a nation dogged by poverty, catastrophic natural disasters and political instability. Bodies lay all around the hilly city, while Haitians clawed at chunks of concrete with bare hands and sledgehammers, trying to free those buried alive. A 35-year-old Estonian, Tarmo Joveer, was freed from the rubble of the United Nations' five-story headquarters early Thursday, and told journalists he was fine. The UN said at least 16 members of its 9,000-strong peacekeeping mission had been killed and scores were still missing. Brazil's army said 14 of its soldiers were among the dead. Canadian aid worker Danielle Trepanier was rescued on Wednesday, disoriented and in shock but otherwise with only minor scratches, after nearly 24 hours trapped in the collapsed house where she lived, aid group Doctors Without Borders said. "Two locally recruited drivers were among those who put their own lives in danger to rescue Danielle, knowing from her intermittent cries for help that all was not lost," the group said in a statement. FOREIGN HELP Nations around the world pitched in to help. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said three French state aircraft carrying 40 ton of equipment, doctors and security staff had already landed in Haiti and two more were on the way. The United States, China, and European states were sending reconnaissance and rescue teams, some with search dogs and heavy equipment, while other governments and aid groups offered tents, water purification units, food and telecoms teams. But aid distribution was hampered because roads were still blocked by rubble and trees, and normal communications were cut off. U.N. peacekeepers around the city seemed overwhelmed by the enormity of the recovery task ahead. "We just don't know what to do," a Chilean peacekeeper said. "You can see how terrible the damage is. We have not been able to get into all the areas." Many hospitals were too badly damaged to use, and doctors struggled to treat crushed limbs, head wounds and broken bones at makeshift facilities where medical supplies were scarce. The Haitian Red Cross had run out of body bags. Aid group Doctors Without Borders was sending an inflatable hospital with two operating theaters and capable of housing 100 beds. http://mobile.reuters.com/mobile/m/F...60B5IZ20100114 |
Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
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Troops, food headed for Haiti as quake toll soars 10:21 AM EST 1 of 30 By Tom Brown and Andrew Cawthorne PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Troops and planeloads of food and medicine trickled in to Haiti on Thursday to aid a traumatized nation still rattled by aftershocks from the catastrophic earthquake that flattened homes and government buildings and buried countless people. The Haitian Red Cross said it believed 45,000 to 50,000 people had died and 3 million more were hurt or left homeless by the major 7.0 magnitude quake that hit Haiti's capital on Tuesday. Many people were believed to be still trapped alive in the rubble Heavy aircraft had begun to ferry in aid but the influx had yet to reach shell-shocked Haitians who silently wandered the broken streets of Port-au-Prince, searching desperately for water, food and medical help. "Money is worth nothing right now, water is the currency," one foreign aid-worker told Reuters. Looters swarmed a broken supermarket in the Delmas area of Port-au-Prince, peacefully carrying out electronics and bags of rice. Others siphoned gasoline from a wrecked tanker. "All the policemen are busy rescuing and burying their own families," said tile factory owner Manuel Deheusch. "They don't have the time to patrol the streets." 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. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged long-term U.S. help for the crippled Haitian government. Parliament, the national palace, and many government buildings collapsed and it was unclear how many lawmakers and officials survived. The main prison also fell, allowing dangerous criminals to escape. "The authorities that existed before the earthquake are not able to fully function. We're going to try to support them as they re-establish authority," Clinton told CNN. SURVIVORS DUG OUT There were still no signs of organized rescue operations to free those trapped in debris or remove bodies, and doctors in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, were ill-equipped to treat the injured. Survivors feared returning to their precarious homes and slept overnight in open areas where groups of women sang traditional religious songs in the dark and prayed for the dead. "They sing because they want God to do something. They want God to help them. We all do," said Hotel Villa Creole employee Dermene Duma, who lost four relatives. Foreigners slept around the hotel's pool while scores of injured and dying people lay outside. Sobs and wailing were heard throughout the night but aftershocks interrupted the mourning, sending panicked people running away from the walls. The quake's epicenter was only 10 miles from Port-au-Prince, a sprawling and densely packed city of 4 million people in a nation dogged by poverty, catastrophic natural disasters and political instability. Bodies lay all around the hilly city, while Haitians clawed at chunks of concrete with bare hands and sledgehammers, trying to free those buried alive. A 35-year-old Estonian, Tarmo Joveer, was freed from the rubble of the United Nations' five-story headquarters early Thursday, and told journalists he was fine. The UN said at least 16 members of its 9,000-strong peacekeeping mission had been killed and scores were still missing. Brazil's army said 14 of its soldiers were among the dead. Canadian aid worker Danielle Trepanier was rescued on Wednesday, disoriented and in shock but otherwise with only minor scratches, after nearly 24 hours trapped in the collapsed house where she lived, aid group Doctors Without Borders said. "Two locally recruited drivers were among those who put their own lives in danger to rescue Danielle, knowing from her intermittent cries for help that all was not lost," the group said in a statement. FOREIGN HELP Nations around the world pitched in to help. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said three French state aircraft carrying 40 ton of equipment, doctors and security staff had already landed in Haiti and two more were on the way. The United States, China, and European states were sending reconnaissance and rescue teams, some with search dogs and heavy equipment, while other governments and aid groups offered tents, water purification units, food and telecoms teams. But aid distribution was hampered because roads were still blocked by rubble and trees, and normal communications were cut off. U.N. peacekeepers around the city seemed overwhelmed by the enormity of the recovery task ahead. "We just don't know what to do," a Chilean peacekeeper said. "You can see how terrible the damage is. We have not been able to get into all the areas." Many hospitals were too badly damaged to use, and doctors struggled to treat crushed limbs, head wounds and broken bones at makeshift facilities where medical supplies were scarce. The Haitian Red Cross had run out of body bags. Aid group Doctors Without Borders was sending an inflatable hospital with two operating theaters and capable of housing 100 beds. (Additional reporting by Carlos Barria, David Morgan, Joseph Guyler Delva, Stephanie Nebehay, Patrick Worsnip and Louis Charbonneau; Writing by Jane Sutton, Pascal Fletcher and Anthony Boadle; Editing by Vicki Allen and David Storey) |
Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
Minnesotans report from ground zero in Haiti
Troy and Tara Livesay moved from Zimmerman, Minn., to Port-au-Prince three years ago. They are updating the scene in Haiti via Twitter and their blog. Here is an update of his eyewitness account today, in addition to her blog postings. You can see his tweets at @troylivesay or their blog posts at livesayhaiti.blogspot.com About 6 a.m. currently experiencing another aftershock - they are still coming - had a couple strong ones yesterday and last night. Yesterday there was only one gas station operating in town that I saw and it was a mob scene. No violence but it was very intense. The power and internet is working due to generators and battery systems, I'm not sure how long it will last if there are fuel shortages. We were not able to reach anyone on Delmas 31, including Sherrie Fausey - still don't know anything about her but the area is severely dmgd. OK-Tom & Bev Brumbley,Jared & Jalayne Coblentz,Kim & Patrick Bentrott,Dan & Liz Carl, all team members at the Manasseros,Abbey & 3 Ang. kids. Here are the people we had contact with yesterday that we know are OK - Madame Pierre (Esperandieu), Church of the Open Door team... About 7 a.m. It has seemed calm around town and fairly easy to navigate the roads. Most ppl still seemed shocked. Many had bags packed-lving city I assume. I don't know if what I'm sending out is old news by now but don't have time to check that out - saw many signs of looting yest. along Delmas People outside of Haiti with information or inquiries about U.S. citizens in Haiti may reach the Haiti Task Force at 888-407-4747. Americans are urged to contact the Embassy via email at ACSPaP@state.gov to request assistance. Trying to wade through a thousand emails and get replies to any that I can offer help with-US Embassy has a hotline set up - info next... Digital cell phones still seem to be out-that is the only cell service we have so can't call anyone here-can't call for your family members About 8:30 a.m. It struck me yesterday that there is no such thing as 'first responders' in Haiti-the rescue efforts so far consisted of anyone nearby. we're seeing the coast guard and lots of other planes/helicopters since yesterday. Blog posts today: JANUARY 14, 2010 DON'T COME If you don't speak Creole and don't have the ability to work with injured people - you should NOT come. We cannot feed you and we don't have a place to house you. Many roads are blocked by fallen buildings. MANY people walking around with open and serious wounds. It is hard to travel freely to the areas you've asked us to check, that is why we don't have that information for you. The deceased are being dragged to the side of roads, covered in sheets and left. We don't live in the hardest hit areas but even so there are many bodies. Everything in Haiti (pre-earthquake) runs on generators and inverters and batteries. Sometimes (pre earthquake) we get a city power current. Now there is no city current. Right now the Internet companies need to use diesel and generators to offer us service. It won't likely last ... and will come and go. We'll do our best to stay in touch. Diesel is going to go fast and will be needed for any sort of communication. Pray. -- tara You are asking what you can do ... we are going to need Diesel, Water, Food ... things you cannot really easily do. SO - give money. The two organizations Troy and I work with and for both need help and are both reputable. The giant organizations are fine too if that is what you prefer. Money is the number one need (and ability to purchase the supplies) and MEDICAL PERSONNEL. Coming down if you are not willing to risk and get in and clean out horrific wounds would just tax an already taxed place. Medical professionals should contact organizations with the ability to coordinate efforts and try to get here. It won't help to have more non-medical people to feed and house. Hope that does not sound harsh - but it is truth. We have only lived here for four years and certainly don't have a full grasp on the culture yet. One thing is ABSOLUTELY true ... Haitian people are tough, strong , brave , and tenacious. Most of them have been suffering for decades and decades and have seen more than you can imagine. The amount of the current suffering caused by the earthquake cannot possibly be known right now ... the numbers cannot be estimated. But, if the way they deal with day to day hardship is any indication - the people of Haiti will rise. Pray for the trapped, pray for the hurt. Send your money to organizations sending medical help. http://www.startribune.com/local/814...tml?page=3&c=y |
Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
Obama says US stands with Haiti, pledges $100M aid
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said Thursday that "one of the largest relief efforts in our recent history" is moving toward Haiti as he continued to mobilize the U.S. response to the island's devastating earthquake. Obama said the U.S. government is initially directing $100 million toward the relief effort, a figure he said would certainly grow over the year. "This is one of those moments that calls out for American leadership," he said. The death of one American citizen from Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude quake was confirmed, with three others known to be missing, said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley. The State Department is not releasing the identity of the dead American, pending notification of next of kin. Crowley said the U.S. embassy has made contact with nearly 1,000 American citizens in Haiti, only a small fraction of the estimated 45,000 Americans in the country. The first U.S. Army infantry troops — a little more than 100 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division — are heading to Haiti, due to leave Fort Bragg in North Carolina later Thursday. The troops will find locations to set up tents and other essentials in preparation for the arrival of another roughly 800 personnel from the division on Friday. They come on top of some 2,200 Marines, also to be sent, as the military ramps up what Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called "a full court press" to provide earthquake relief in the form of security, search and rescue, and the delivery of humanitarian supplies. Obama said more than a half dozen U.S. military ships also are expected to help, with the largest, the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, arriving Thursday, and the Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort also deployed. But, aware that mishandling disaster can quickly become a liability for a president, he warned pre-emptively that it will take hours "and in many cases days" to get the full U.S. relief contingent on the ground, because of the badly damaged roads, airport, port and communications. "None of this will seem quick enough if you have a loved one who's trapped, if you're sleeping on the streets, if you can't feed your children," Obama said. "So today, you must know that help is arriving. Much, much more help is on the way." As a start, the president said the U.S. military has secured the severely damaged airport in Port-au-Prince, preparing it to receive round-the-clock deliveries of heavy equipment and emergency supplies being flown in from the United States and countries around the world. Sensitive to questions about whether the U.S. would need — or choose — to essentially take over Haiti's now almost-nonexistent civil and governmental structure, the State Department spokesman stressed that U.S. troops sent to Haiti will be under U.S. command but there to augment and support the United Nations mission. "We're not taking over Haiti," Crowley said. "We are helping to stabilize Haiti, we're helping to provide them lifesaving support and materiel and we're going to be there over the long term to help Haiti rebuild. But, the key is: we are maintaining constant contact with the Haitian government even given the difficult situation. What we're doing is following the priorities that the Haitian government has outlined for us." Appearing on morning network news shows after cutting short an overseas trip, Clinton said it's still too early to make a firm estimate of the number of deaths. But she said officials know that approximately 3 million people have been affected and that "tens of thousands, we fear, are dead." Clinton noted that the small Caribbean country was still recovering from the damage wrought by last year's storms, with help from Washington, the United Nations and other countries. She said "this is going to be a long-term effort," from saving lives and providing food, water and medical supplies, to beginning the reconstruction process. Clinton appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America," CBS's "The Early Show," and NBC's "Today" show. Clinton advised people worried about relatives living in Haiti to call a special information number at the State Department — 1 888 407 4747, which is the operations center there. Obama directed people to go to http://www.state.gov for information about missing loved ones. Obama also implored individual Americans to donate to the relief effort, saying they could get information on how to do so through the White House Website at http://www.whitehouse.gov. Obama said Americans are being evacuated as quickly as possible. Crowley said 164 Americans have been airlifted out, including 42 non-essential officials and employee family members and 72 private citizens who were taken out on Coast Guard C-130s. Another 50 private citizens left on an Iceland Air flight. There are 360 Americans registered to leave on evacuation flights that will continue today. "We will not rest until we account for our fellow Americans in harm's way," Obama said. The president also said he has directed Vice President Joe Biden to travel to South Florida this weekend to meet with members of the Haitian-American community and responders. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100114/...iti_earthquake |
Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
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The trick now is trying to determine what is worth stockpiling for use in a destroyed society before it is destroyed. So far pm's fail the test. Maybe later, but for now; fail. |
Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
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1. Air 2. Water 3. Shelter (including clothing) 4. Food 5. Energy (heat source for sterilizing, cooking, warmth) 6. Defensive weapon Sure, you could stockpile the above, but rather I recommend you own the items necessary to PRODUCE the above and learn the skills to do so. |
Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
Water is life. In any emergency, without water, you are toast
In a SHTF scenario, i would put defense above energy, becuase having the first 4 in areas with others that don't makes you a big target 1 cup of contaminated water = sickness then probably death 3 days without water = death someone finding out you have stockpiled water = death on my uncles acerage he has 5 large plastic drums set up for rainwater collection for garden use. He has his whole roof setup to drain to 2 points. 1 hour of light rainfall will fill all 5.. it's quite amazing. |
Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
48 Hours and civilization collapses - Haiti -
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/01...y6097747.shtml It took less than 48 hours for the collapse and anarchy - in a tropical climate (shelter was not a mandatory requirement). Strongest reminder in at least a week to be well prepared for SHTF and bugout planning. |
Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
I suspect this will play out worse than Katrina. What separates Haiti from the DR?
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Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
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One could argue that the repeated US "intervention" gave the DR enough room to develop the infrastructure to make a go of it. Haiti on the other hand got saddled with Papa and Baby Doc - both kleptocrats of the first order. |
Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
I was wondering how things would play out down there. Everyone who has any interest in how things may play out here if SHTF should be paying close attention.
Perhaps my logic is backwards here, but despite the conditions I think that Haitians may be psychologically better able to deal with this than Americans would. I don't mean this in any derrogatory way, but life in Haiti sucks. It's hard, and after the quake its even harder. Life in America is relatively good (compared to Haiti) and if it suddenly went to conditions like Haiti, I think that many Americans would go off the deep end. We're too soft. |
Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
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I'm sure everyone will want to point fingers like after Katrina, but ULTIMATELY WE ARE ALL RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR OWN DECISIONS. How many people in Haiti thought they would be facing this situation the morning before the earthquake? Preparedness must take place BEFORE the crisis. Sometimes you don't get ANY warning. |
Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
I suggested in another thread that people take note of what's happening in Haiti to examine their own stash for failings. People didn't clue in on one crucial thing ... All the preps in the world aren't worth shit when your shelter collapses on top of it.
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Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
An Imperial Berkey would be pricelless right about now.
Heaven forbid if the masses find out you have one. T |
Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
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The best you hope for is to be lucky enough not to have a building drop on you. T |
Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
WHILE teenagers bought popcorn by the ton on their way into �Pirates of the Caribbean�� last week, and fashion addicts clawed into �The Devil Wears Prada,�� a different crowd lined up for a movie playing at two Manhattan art houses: �Heading South,�� about older single women visiting 1970�s Haiti in a female version of sex tourism.
The women in the film, in their late 40�s and 50�s, are spending a vacation at a resort where impoverished local beach boys serve as holiday gigolos. The teenagers devote themselves to nourishing the women�s starved libidos in exchange for food, gifts and temporary refuge from the perils of the island�s repressive regime. Link |
Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
Interactive slide show of Haiti, nearly 700 pictures:
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Strong...1210haitiquake |
Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
shows me guns and ammo will be the first currency to get food and water...even before gold and silver
and it will protect you too..... |
Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
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Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
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I can better understand guns and ammo as being practical to defend home and family (and preps), but I can't see it as "currency" -- something I would barter to someone else. |
Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
SLV, right now, gangs armed with machetes are ruling the streets in Port-au-Prince.
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Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
Photo link in post #18 fixed now.
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Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
Looters break into UN food warehouse: (can't blame them one bit)
UN: Looters break into UN warehouses in Haiti GENEVA – Looters have broken into U.N. food warehouses in Haiti's crumbled capital, an official said Friday, as security and logistical challenges mounted for groups trying to feed at least 2 million people reeling from a devastating earthquake. The U.N. World Food Program had 15,000 tons of food aid in Haiti prior to Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude earthquake, stocks designed for hurricane relief. Spokeswoman Emilia Casella said local partners reported that the U.N. warehouse in Port-au-Prince's Cite Soleil neighborhood was looted but the agency did not know how much aid was stolen or exactly when it was taken. She did not give details of the other looted warehouses, but said much of the agency's food stocks were located outside the capital. Casella noted that regular food stores in the capital also "have been cleaned out" by desperate Haitians since the quake killed thousands and left countless more buried under the rubble. Distributing food and clean water to hungry and thirsty quake survivors is the top challenge of the early relief effort. Looting, bad roads, a ruined port, an overwhelmed Port-au-Prince airport and fears of violence meant most Haitians have received no help three days after the quake. The U.N. was planning to ask governments later Friday for $550 million in humanitarian pledges for the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation. "The physical destruction is so great that physically getting from point A to B with the supplies is not an easy task," Casella told a news conference. "Pictures can get out instantly ... and that's important because the world needs to know. But getting physically tons and tons of equipment and food and water is not as instant as Twitter or Skype or 24-hour television news." The international community has already donated hundreds of millions of dollars and sent in the first of hundreds of doctors, engineers, soldiers and aid workers. But the U.N. and others still hadn't figured out how to deliver assistance through broken roads and crumpled buildings, with little machinery to clear the mess. They are also contending with masses of people gathered in Port-au-Prince's streets, few working phones and a massive influx of goods and personnel without an organized plan. Casella said her agency was working to collect enough ready-to-eat meals to feed 2 million Haitians for a month. U.N. humanitarian spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said peacekeepers were maintaining security in Haiti, despite the challenges. "It's tense but they can cope," Byrs said. "People who have not been eating or drinking for almost 50 hours and are already in a very poor situation, if they see a truck with something ... or if they see a supermarket which has collapsed, they just rush to get something to eat." Complicating the security situation is the complete destruction of Port-au-Prince's main prison. The international Red Cross, which visited detainees before the quake, said a few inmates died but that the vast majority — 4,000 — had escaped and were freely roaming the streets of the capital. "They obviously took advantage of this disaster," spokesman Marcal Izard said. Byrs said needs would increase in the coming days. Search-and-rescue operations remained the immediate focus, but Byrs said there was no need for countries and groups to send additional teams or field hospitals. There are 17 such teams on the ground and six more are coming. "The arrival of others could compromise the work of those who are on the spot and are searching the rubble," she said. "The priority for the moment is for medical teams." Byrs said 10 percent of the homes in Port-au-Prince have been destroyed, meaning there are at least 300,000 homeless people. In some areas, the quake crushed or left unusable half of all buildings. She also warned that "the issue of corpse collection and disposal" was becoming increasingly critical as dead bodies piled up on the streets. The World Health Organization said corpses should be treated with chemicals to prevent them from decomposing and buried in open ditches. But mass graves aren't recommended because that would prevent families from identifying lost relatives, said WHO spokesman Paul Garwood. "The scale of this disaster has overwhelmed all capacities," Garwood said. "There's an urgent need to get more and more body bags into the area so that we can properly handle these bodies." http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100115/...9vdGVyc2JyZQ-- |
Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
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Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
Just got an e-mail from missionary friends in Haiti:
We are 100 miles north of the epicenter and though our city was shaken it sustained no damage. However, the effects of the capital being devastated are already being felt here as fuel is in short supply. Most everything entering Haiti comes through the capital. Communication has been a major problem as cell phones which have been out since the quake are just now coming back into service. Unfortunately survivors in the capital have no electricity to charge their phones. Most people we know in the capital are alive. People from our city who were living in Port-au-Prince are trying to make their way back here. A couple of men from one family in our church headed to Port to try to find their teenage sister. The school she was in at the time of the quake crumbled and she is presumed buried in the rubble. They were forced to return without finding her body as gang members are roaming the streets and civil unrest is beginning to erupt. Young boys have been seen with weapons. How many hours from disaster to "civil unrest"? |
Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
this is why, time and time again, i tell people PM's are worth nothing in the short term in a disaster, natural or economic.
Keep them buried and use them once order has been restored. People stocking up on PMs to use, so they can get "anything i need" in a disaster situation, are delusional. As soon as even the local economy grinds to a halt, no one will accept them. Bottles of water will be accepted far more easily than a silver coin... need will push up the value of that bottle to $50+. Only those with a large supply and an ability to protect them might exchange then for money, but maybe only when the crisis is ramping down. using bullets as currency is a very bad idea, you just announced you have a surplus supply of weapons, and are giving them away to potential threats to you and other innocent people. |
Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
from http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2...-gonave-haiti/
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Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
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and people will trade guns and ammo for food and water....so both have both. Quote:
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Re: Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now; water is the currency."
from a survival prep pov....
"All the policemen are busy rescuing and burying their own families," said tile factory owner Manuel Deheusch. "They don't have the time to patrol the streets." It has seemed calm around town and fairly easy to navigate the roads. Most ppl still seemed shocked. Many had bags packed-leaving city I assume. vvvvv a city in a shtf scenario probably isn't the best place to be... "Money is worth nothing right now, water is the currency," one foreign aid-worker told Reuters. vvvvv living in an area where modern infrastructure isn't necessary to exist would be the correct choice, like a fresh water supply that doesn't require electricity or pipes to supply it, requires nothing more than a bucket to gather it...a creek, a river, a lake... Looters swarmed a broken supermarket in the Delmas area of Port-au-Prince, peacefully carrying out electronics and bags of rice. Others siphoned gasoline from a wrecked tanker. "It's tense but they can cope," Byrs said. "People who have not been eating or drinking for almost 50 hours and are already in a very poor situation, if they see a truck with something ... or if they see a supermarket which has collapsed, they just rush to get something to eat." The U.N. World Food Program had 15,000 tons of food aid in Haiti prior to Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude earthquake, stocks designed for hurricane relief. Spokeswoman Emilia Casella said local partners reported that the U.N. warehouse in Port-au-Prince's Cite Soleil neighborhood was looted but the agency did not know how much aid was stolen or exactly when it was taken. Casella noted that regular food stores in the capital also "have been cleaned out" by desperate Haitians since the quake killed thousands and left countless more buried under the rubble. vvvvv your personal food and emergency supplies stash is only secure if no one knows about it...so its not a good idea to talk about them... |
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