Posted on 01/14/2010 5:35:01 AM PST by myknowledge
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- The commander of the first U.S. ship to reach earthquake-stricken Haiti described devastation all around from her vantage point in the Port-au-Prince harbor.
"It is hard to look out in this harbor and see a building that is not affected ... from the waterfront up the hills to the larger buildings," Cmdr. Diane W. Durham of the Coast Guard cutter Forward said by satellite phone Wednesday afternoon, WTKR-TV, Norfolk, Va., reported.
The Forward, dispatched from the American naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, arrived in Haiti at sunrise and the light of day highlighted the destruction .
(Excerpt) Read more at upi.com ...
This is such a mess, I cannot even begin to consider what lies ahead; decaying bodies, dehydration, hunger, if we thought this country was a mess before, it is now only going to get worse. BTW, where is the billion dollars the US sent last year???
We seem to be in the business of nation building now. Perhaps we’ll put our experience to good use and help Haiti become something better than it was.
Agreed, the law of the jungle is probably about to go into action.
I see Airborne drops to restore some sort order.
It sounds like the earthquake will keep killing people for awhile, with the initial victims only the first wave. Next the people with injuries who can’t get to medical help and those trapped in the rubble. Then there will be disease from lack of clean water, unburied bodies and proper food. You have to also consider that the strong will steal from and kill the weak in places. I feel really bad for the people of Haiti but beyond contributing to the Red Cross I am not sure what to do.
Fox said Obama has enlisted George W. Bush to help. I bet the left will love that! Hillary was on Fox and Friends this morning and said there is a huge effort on behalf of the Coast Guard, our military and the UN to restore communication, piece together the govt., and do search and rescue. One woman lost all 4 of her children and just sits on the ground and screams every so often. The reports are heart wrenching.
And it can happen here. Are we prepared?
Did you hear Ben Johnson’s slip up when referring to Hilary? He called her “clitter” then checked himself.
LMAO
No! I didn’t catch that but I recorded the interview on my VCR so will rewind it and listen again. I know HIllary was asked by Shannon how we can ensure the donation money gets into the right hands. Hillary said she is working to make sure that happens.
My son just got back from a mission trip to Haiti last week. He’s in shock because a video link I e-mailed him was of a street he had just travelled on a week ago.
Of all the things I was worried about while he was there, an earthquake was the farthest thing from my mind.
At least my son heard from the people he stayed with down there & they survived the quake.
Hopefully, they will have someone in charge of the incoming money. They have to be accountable and make sure it gets to the people.
I'm waiting for Obama to push his idea of a Stability Police Force that stands ready to restore order in case of a disaster. At home or abroad, the SPF can be mobilized to keep unruly citizens in line.
Sure, the recruitment will take a little time, and it may not be in place in time to help Haiti, but perhaps it would be ready for the next meltdown that Obama wanted to control. Hmmmmmmmmmmm?
The Haiti situation is just heartbreaking.
I’m wondering where Cuba and Venezuela are in this international rescue???
Haiti has been a disaster for 200 + years. Nothing will change. Help them get back on their feet but stop the flood of Haitians into the U.S.. Haiti may eventually bankrupt Florida.
I read that the 82nd AB was going in.
Really? Wow. I was just thinking how different this is - Louisiana’s governor would not authorize Bush to send National Guard until well into the crisis. Haiti’s leader begged the US to send a hospital ship as soon as they were able to get word out. I wonder if the press will realize that’s why Obama was able to send help more quickly?
Or is Obama’s move to include Bush an attempt to blame him for anything that goes wrong in the relief effort?
In a fortnight, Haiti would be descending into complete anarchy had international aid not arrived in time.
can happen? When you live in earthquake country from California to Alaska you are likely to have three or four good size damaging quakes in your lifetime, and countless “did you feel that?” little ones. Thankfully we have building codes that help prevent all but the oldest buildings from total collapse. When we get a 7.0 the damage is mostly moderate, and the deaths few. In Haiti they have no codes. Each year during the rainy season it is normal to have 40 or 50 of those hillside shanty homes above Port-au-Prince come sliding down the hill in mud slides killing dozens, and they just build more in their place with no improvements.
Saw Bill Clinton on TV last night and he said something that I was unaware of and that is that 200 years ago while under French rule, Haiti was the wealthiest nation in the Caribbean. I cannot help but wonder how different Haiti might be today had they stayed under French rule.
I know for a fact that they don't have to obey municipal fire codes, so who knows about a four level parking stucture.
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