"You sure made a hash of things, Barry.
But I'll help you out-- just this once."
Posted on 01/16/2010 8:54:02 AM PST by saganite
The Port-au-Prince airport remained the main roadblock between tons of relief supplies in South Florida warehouses and desperate Haitians. After a two-hour delay, a chartered cargo plane left idling on the runway at Miami International Airport Friday morning finally got permission to take off for the Haitian capital.
It left at 10:05 a.m. for the two-hour flight, though getting permission to land can be a challenge, too.
``We've got reports [from air traffic control] that flights are being held for three hours,'' Alfredo Gumbs Jr., ramp manager for cargo carrier Amerijet, said Friday minutes after the departure of the plane loaded with 45,000 pounds of beans, infant formula and medical supplies. ``We've added extra fuel just in case.''
snip
The main problem: a logistical mess at the Port-au-Prince airport, which was left with working runways but a severely damaged control tower and terminal. While the U.S. military is now guiding in planes, the damaged terminal facilities make unloading cargo extremely tedious, the executives said.
Because cargo planes sit so high off the ground and bring in massive freight pallets, workers need industrial equipment to unload the holds. But the Haitian airport, which typically receives only a few cargo planes a day, saw its small collection of equipment damaged in the quake, executives said.
(Excerpt) Read more at miamiherald.com ...
"When American forces consulted Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) about a possible joint airlift, they learned the RAF was already running an airlift in support of British troops in Berlin. General Clay's counterpart, General Sir Brian Robertson, was ready with some concrete numbers. During the Little Lift earlier that year, British Air Commodore Reginald Waite had calculated the resources required to support the entire city. His calculations indicated that they would need to supply seventeen hundred calories per person per day, giving a grand total of 646 tons of flour and wheat, 125 tons of cereal, 64 tons of fat, 109 tons of meat and fish, 180 tons of dehydrated potatoes, 180 tons of sugar, 11 tons of coffee, 19 tons of powdered milk, five tons of whole milk for children, three tons of fresh yeast for baking, 144 tons of dehydrated vegetables, 38 tons of salt and ten tons of cheese. In total, 1,534 tons were needed daily to keep the over two million people alive.[41] Additionally, the city needed to be kept heated and powered, which would require another 3,475 tons of coal and gasoline.[42]"
I notice that most of the reporting is being done from the airport.
Not a particularly apples-and-oranges comparison. The Germans are, by nature, organized, disciplined, prompt and industrious.
We're dealing with a different world in Haiti.
It will take a bigger miricle than the Berlin Airlift to get Haiti back to "normal" - much less make a functioning country out of it.
It provides a comparison, albeit a bleak one. :-(
Ships need to start dropping off supplies, one runway will never supply two million people.
Is there a functioning rail link between the Dominican Republic and Port-Au-Prince?
Just answered my own question, there is no rail link between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
One obvious thing to do would be to parachute basic supplies into the countryside. Apparently Gates has given order not to do that, because he thinks it will only stir up more violence, as machete wielding thugs fight over the food.
It’s a sad business, but you can’t help people who won’t help themselves and each other. Not all Haitians are like that, but far too many of them are. You had “peacekeepers” from other countries in there even before the earthquake struck.
Nagin and Blanco must’ve found work running an airport.
Just air drop the stuff and be done.
Multiple passes down the runway with trucks and crews breaking it down and hauling it off.
Better for everyone.
There does appear to be a modern paved road between the two countries.
They could airlift security into the city too. Isn’t the primary purpose of the helicopters to carry troops?
"In terms of immediate relief, Pam and I have racked our brains. We’re a 12-hour drive from Port-au-Prince, but only 10 minutes from the Dominican Republic. Out of all the “missionaries” in Haiti we possibly live the closest to the border?"
You are correct, transport via ship is much more cost effective than by air. My understanding is that the port facilities are damaged so they will need to get them in working order. They could use LCAC’s, Landing Craft or even vert rep to offload the ships until the port is usable.
Another big problem is fuel - With the port out - no way to ship it in, and the increased number of flights the whole region is getting low... Where’s Hugo Chavez offering free gas for relief flights? Castro is allowing overflights, reducing the round trip distance by 90 minutes flying time, but he’ not offering refueling or use of Cuban airfields yet.. He’s missing a big chance to let O normalize relations.
That is part of the problem ... the port facilities (docks, piers, the one unloading/loading crane) were severely damaged.
On GoggleEarth you can find photos of paved roadways, but they are mostly in the vicinity of PauP.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-01-15-general-criticizes-response_N.htm
Retired general: U.S. aid effort too slow
By Ken Dilanian, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The U.S. relief effort for Haiti started too slowly and cautiously, says a retired general who led the military relief effort on the Gulf Coast after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
“The next morning after the earthquake, as a military man of 37 years service, I assumed … there would be airplanes delivering aid, not troops, but aid,” said retired Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, who coordinated military operations after disaster struck the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2005. “What we saw instead was discussion about, ‘Well we’ve got to send an assessment team in to see what the needs are.’ And anytime I hear that, my head turns red.”
The problem, Honore told USA TODAY, is that the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, instead of the military, take the lead in international disaster response.
The Presstitutes are going to go after him hammer and tong, just like they did with Bush following Katrina.
They're going to rip him to pieces.
They're going to make fun of his ineptitude.
They're going state forcefully that this half-white President hates blacks.
The will ridicule him for this for the rest of his term.
They will never let up on him..... they will.... they...
Ummmm.... guess not.
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