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Haiti Earthquake: Death Toll May Hit 200,000
Telegraph(UK) ^ | January 16th 2010 | Gordon Rayner

Posted on 01/16/2010 8:38:34 AM PST by Steelfish

Haiti Earthquake: Death Toll May Hit 200,000

Anger has turned to violence on the streets of Haiti as survivors lose patience with the painfully slow process of getting international aid after the earthquake that authorities say may have killed 200,000 people.

By Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter 16 Jan 2010

Bodies fill the frontyard of the morgue in Port-au-Prince, Haiti Photo: AP Haiti's shell-shocked government gave the United States control over its main airport to bring order to aid flights from around the world and speed relief to the impoverished Caribbean nation.

Trucks piled with corpses have been carrying bodies to hurriedly excavated mass graves outside the city but thousands of bodies still are believed buried under rubble.

"We have already collected around 50,000 dead bodies," Paul Antoine Bien-Aime, Haiti's interior minister told Reuters. "We anticipate there will be between 100,000 and 200,000 dead in total, although we will never know the exact number." Around 40,000 bodies have been buried in mass graves.

Although doctors, rescue teams and supplies had been flying into the Haitian capital, Port au Prince, a series of bottlenecks meant aid was not getting to those who needed it most. The sound of gunfire echoed around Port au Prince as looters fought over scarce food supplies, hijacked vehicles and raided a UN warehouse where 15,000 tons of food had been stockpiled.

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: deathtoll; haiti
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1 posted on 01/16/2010 8:38:35 AM PST by Steelfish
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To: Steelfish
The sound of gunfire echoed around Port au Prince as looters fought over scarce food supplies, hijacked vehicles and raided a UN warehouse where 15,000 tons of food had been stockpiled.

I'm calling BS on this claim that there were 15,000 tons of food raided from the UN warehouse. Imagine the logistics of coming in and stealing 15,000 TONS of food in a couple of days! I bet the food wasn't there to begin with, and the UN is using the fact that their headquarters was destroyed as cover for shenanigans involving the food programme (UN spelling).

2 posted on 01/16/2010 8:48:50 AM PST by RightFighter (Sarah Palin - we love you and can't wait to see you again.)
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To: Steelfish
raided a UN warehouse where 15,000 tons of food had been stockpiled.

If this were true, then that means 15,000 tons of food got to people who needed it desperately.

Since there were no reports of looters carrying 15,000 tons of food around, I am fairly sure the warehouse was already empty.

3 posted on 01/16/2010 8:50:36 AM PST by UCANSEE2
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To: RightFighter

I should have checked before I posted.

I’m not the only one who can read between the lines.


4 posted on 01/16/2010 8:51:56 AM PST by UCANSEE2
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To: Steelfish
I wonder how many thousands of lives slowly and painfully ebbed away while Obama pondered what to do.

I cannot imagine what my feelings would be and what I might do if I had to watch a family member suffer for 2 days before dying, like one story I read.

When I first heard of the quake and where it was I thought that at least 1000 people would have lost their lives...I was off on the wrong end by a factor of at least 100...and we're just one big one from having it happen here and I don't think the current government would do much better than the Haitians.

5 posted on 01/16/2010 8:54:17 AM PST by eldoradude (Let's water the tree of liberty with THEIR blood...)
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To: RightFighter
This guy probably ran the warehouse.


6 posted on 01/16/2010 9:04:32 AM PST by UCANSEE2
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To: eldoradude

A quake of the same magnitude DID hit here...in LA...63 people died...

The difference here can directly be attributted to bulding codes and a working responce infrastructure...


7 posted on 01/16/2010 9:04:37 AM PST by Crim
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To: Steelfish

8 posted on 01/16/2010 9:18:35 AM PST by jimbo123
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To: Crim

Another difference is that in Haiti, they had at least 30 aftershocks, between 3.0 and 5.0+

To get an idea of the problem, go here

http://www.wolton.net/quake.html

Download the software (takes about 1 second) unzip it, and run it.

It is an amazing 3D display of earthquakes worldwide, instantly updated in realtime.


9 posted on 01/16/2010 9:19:50 AM PST by UCANSEE2
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To: Steelfish

The reason response is slow is there is no infrastructure remaining which can be used to enable rapid response. Until infrastructure is restored there can be no massive response.

What vexes too many well-intentioned people is the need to establish some measure of order so that massive relief can be effective.

For statists there is an un-spoken attribution of the powers of deity to the state. They expect miracles from those who are merely mortal.


10 posted on 01/16/2010 9:25:21 AM PST by comps4spice ("Fish have to swim. Birds have to fly. And liberal Democrats have to call their opponents racists".)
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To: UCANSEE2

I understand that.....but I am referimg directly to a lack of any type of structural engineering in hardly any buildings...most are poured concrete slabs with no steel....just crete...

It’s low tech, it’s cheap....and it simply crumbles in a quake...

Yes it’s a natual disaster....but the scope of damage is a direct result of a lack of sound buildings...

The LA quake was of the same magnitude....63 people died..vs the estimated 200,000....


11 posted on 01/16/2010 9:25:44 AM PST by Crim
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To: Crim

And I must correct myself. After further investigation, there were as many if not more aftershocks in the SF quake.

So your original comment is even more valid.


12 posted on 01/16/2010 9:29:41 AM PST by UCANSEE2
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To: jimbo123

"You sure made a hash of things, Barry.
But I'll help you out-- just this once."
13 posted on 01/16/2010 9:29:42 AM PST by BenLurkin
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To: UCANSEE2

Somebody is going to pay for the “missing” tonnage.

Old war story I heard from VN vets. When a lucky enemy rocket hit a conex box on base, for purposes of reporting “destroyed” material, about 20 conex box’s worth of gear was discovered to have been in it.

Everything that had been lost, misplaced or stolen in the previous year or three “somehow” was in that box that was destroyed....

Imagine that.


14 posted on 01/16/2010 9:31:19 AM PST by Travis McGee (---www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com---)
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To: UCANSEE2

No problem...I wasnt looking for an arguement...sorry if I came off that way....

I’m just usually in a mode when I’m surfing multiple sites and commenting several places on differing topics...

Like glenn says..ADD can be a blessing or a curse..

*grin*


15 posted on 01/16/2010 9:54:26 AM PST by Crim
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To: RightFighter

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2429043/posts

Here is the article which talks about the food raid. They didn’t say how much was taken, but the building had 15,000 tons of food. I questioned why it was being held in the first place and not being distributed.


16 posted on 01/16/2010 10:01:12 AM PST by Marmolade
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To: Travis McGee

“Somebody is going to pay for the “missing” tonnage.”

How’s this for a scam... U.N. people sell off supplies to wealthy Haitians and warlords, and then claim it was lost to looters.


17 posted on 01/16/2010 11:23:19 AM PST by Chet 99
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To: Marmolade

There is nothing in that article that gives me confidence the food was actually there. It just doesn’t sound feasible that 15000 tons of food could be looted so quickly.


18 posted on 01/16/2010 11:55:40 AM PST by RightFighter (Sarah Palin - we love you and can't wait to see you again.)
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To: Crim
.I wasnt looking for an arguement...sorry if I came off that way....

No need to apologize, as it didn't come off as an 'argument'.

It was simply debate. Good conversation. Which I enjoy. I appreciate your response.

I’m just usually in a mode when I’m surfing multiple sites and commenting several places on differing topics...

Then, we are like two peas in a pod, brother.

: )

19 posted on 01/16/2010 1:02:35 PM PST by UCANSEE2
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To: Travis McGee

What was the movie where they bombed their own warehouse to get comped on an overstock of something they could not sell anymore?

Not Catch-22, but the other one by the same director?


20 posted on 01/16/2010 1:06:36 PM PST by UCANSEE2
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