DC DIARY: Hope for Haiti —Zeeshan Suhail

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DC DIARY: Hope for Haiti —Zeeshan Suhail

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World Bank Team Prepares for Damage Assessment, Recovery Plan

http://go.worldbank.org/F9ELJXTE40

How does Haiti communicate after the earthquake?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8470270.stm

Earthquake survivor says iPhone helped save his life

http://www.tuaw.com/2010/01/20/earthquake-survivor-says-iphone-helped-save-his-life/

http://blogs.worldbank.org/eastasiapacific/haiti-earthquake-out-of-great-disasters-comes-great-opportunity

Haiti earthquake: Out of great disasters comes great opportunity

Submitted by Abhas Jha on Mon, 2010-01-18 00:33

The scale and magnitude of the earthquake in Haiti has shocked, saddened and horrified us all. But there is a silver lining to this great tragedy. Looking back in history, great natural disasters are often a catalyst for huge, positive change. 

The great fire of London in 1666 led to a massive rebuilding effort, better building regulations and, in the end, a safer, cleaner city that maintained the medieval street plan that is still visible, to some extent, today. The Wall Street Journal has an interesting discussion of how the impact of the 1755 earthquake in Lisbon led to the creation of a new metropolis with earthquake-proof buildings, wide thoroughfares and a sewer system. The massive reconstruction financing required after the great fire of Copenhagen of 1795 led to the creation, in 1797, of Kreditkassen for Husejere i Kjøbenhavn (The Credit Association of Copenhagen homeowners), the precursor of modern mortgage markets.

The 2004 tsunami that hit Indonesia and the province of Aceh is a similar, recent catastrophe from which we can draw valuable lessons and some challenges in the long haul ahead in the massive reconstruction effort that will be needed to rebuild Port-au-Prince. The tsunami claimed about 167,000 lives and destroyed schools, houses, churches, roads and livelihoods.  The Multi-Donor Fund (MDF) managed by the World Bank with contributions and guidance from 15 other international donor partners is considered by many a model for success. The greatest success of the MDF was the strong partnership with the communities, placing them front and center in the entire reconstruction effort. The biggest challenge today, however, has been the successful transition and hand-off of to the local authorities as well as a transition from a “pure” reconstruction effort to a longer-term sustainable and viable development strategy.

So what are the lessons for the authorities in Haiti? By a somewhat tragic coincidence, the World Bank has just completed its Handbook for Housing Reconstruction after Disasters based on an in-depth assessment of the reconstruction effort after major disasters over the past two decades.

While avoiding being prescriptive (each major disaster is unique) the Handbook has ten major principles that should be at the core of the reconstruction effort. These include putting in place early a reconstruction policy that is inclusive, equity-based, and focused on the vulnerable; having reconstruction policy and plans that are financially realistic but ambitious with respect to disaster risk reduction; and understanding that people affected by a disaster are not victims; they are the first responders during an emergency and the most critical partners in reconstruction.

Wyclef Jean calls for evacuating Haiti capital

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100118/ap_en_mu/us_haiti_wyclef_jean

Social networks and the web offer a lifeline in Haiti

The collapse of traditional channels of communication in Haiti has again highlighted the role of social media and the internet in disasters.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8461240.stm

Haiti's voodoo priests object to mass burials

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N17156910.htm

EU plays down talk of Haiti rift with US

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/558f15be-038b-11df-a601-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1

Gasoline, the lifeblood of Haiti, runs low

The fuel is all the more in demand to power cars and generators. There isn't enough for everyone, but knowing the right people helps.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-haiti-gaslines18-2010jan18,0,5978825,full.story

U.S. Mulls Role in Haiti After the Crisis

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/18/world/americas/18policy.html

UN chief Ban Ki-Moon calls for Haiti aid patience

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has appealed to frustrated Haitians to be patient over efforts to bring them relief from last Tuesday's earthquake.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8464679.stm

Aid pours into Haiti airport as relief workers struggle to distribute it

Desperate Haitians face a fifth day with little food, water or medical care as rubble and a ruined infrastructure prove a barrier to troops and rescue teams. Clinton arrives, meets with Preval

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-haiti-quake17-2010jan17,0,6191603,full.story

Security fears mount in lawless post-earthquake Haiti

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/17/AR2010011703389.html

Sandra Bullock gives $1 million to Haiti relief

Sat Jan 16, 6:34 am ET

LOS ANGELES – Sandra Bullock said Friday she donated $1 million toward Haitian earthquake relief, and Madonna announced she gave $250,000 toward the effort as celebrity aid continued to pour into the devestated country.
Bullock's contribution went to Doctors Without Borders' emergency operations in Port-Au-Prince, where three of the organization's existing facilities were damaged by the magnitude 7.0 quake.
"I wanted to ensure that my donation would be used immediately to meet the needs of the Haitian people affected by this catastrophic event," said Bullock in a statement.
Madonna's gift was to Partners In Health, a longtime medical provider in Haiti.
"I urge all of my friends and fans around the world to join me collectively to match my contribution or give in any way you can," she said. "We must act now."
Earlier Friday, Not On Our Watch, an advocacy and grantmaking group founded by George Clooney, Brad Pitt and others, donated $1 million to Partners in Health.
The international Red Cross estimates 45,000 to 50,000 people were killed in the earthquake, which devastated the Caribbean nation on Tuesday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100116/ap_on_en_mo/us_people_madonna_haiti

Google's relief efforts for Haiti earthquake victims

http://www.google.com/relief/haitiearthquake/

Free Google Voice Calls to Haiti
To help US families reach relatives in Haiti, for the next two weeks, Google Voice is offering free calls to Haiti.
If you don't have a Google Voice account, you can request an invitation at www.google.com/voice.

UN will hand out 6,000 tons of food in Haiti immediately, calls reports of looting overblown

UN will hand out 6,000 tons of food in Haiti immediately, calls reports of looting overblown

 

By Bradley S. Klapper (CP) – 2 hours ago

GENEVA — Some 6,000 tons of food aid will be distributed shortly in Haiti, a U.N. spokeswoman said Friday, adding that reports that U.N. warehouses in Haiti had been looted were overblown.
Officials checked four U.N. food agency warehouses in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince on Friday after receiving reports from local partners of looting, said Emilia Casella, a World Food Program spokeswoman.
"The food is there," Casella told The Associated Press. "They are also working on getting a peacekeeper contingent to secure the locations."
Casella said 6,000 tons of food stored were found in a damaged warehouse near the capital's Cite Soleil slum, and the biscuits, ready-to-eat meals and other supplies would be handed out shortly. That is 40 per cent of the U.N.'s pre-quake food stocks of 15,000 tons in Haiti.
There are six other U.N. warehouses outside the capital, and there were no reports of looting at those, Casella said.
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 has meant most Haitians have received no help three days after Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude quake.
Casella earlier said regular food stores in the capital "have been cleaned out" by desperate Haitians since the 7-magnitude quake Tuesday killed thousands and left countless more buried under the rubble.
Casella said her agency was working to collect enough ready-to-eat meals to feed 2 million Haitians for a month, and 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.
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 was the complete destruction of Port-au-Prince's main prison. The International Red Cross said a few inmates died but that the vast majority - 4,000 - had escaped and were freely roaming the capital.
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 per cent of the homes in Port-au-Prince have been destroyed, meaning there are at least 300,000 homeless people.
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."
Associated Press writers Eliane Engeler and Frank Jordans contributed to this report.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hXYbw85jYHXmHHuqNs7LBrhci5vA

U.N. to launch Haiti emergency appeal for $550 mln

Fri Jan 15, 2010 7:30am EST

* Thousands of injured still waiting for help

* Food stocks reported looted in Haiti, WFP says

* WFP may set up collective kitchens in Port-au-Prince



GENEVA, Jan 15 (Reuters) - U.N. aid agencies will launch an emergency appeal for approximately $550 million on Friday to help survivors of the earthquake in Haiti, a U.N. spokeswoman said.

"There will be a U.N. flash appeal later today in New York for about $550 million," U.N. spokeswoman Corinne Momal-Vanian told a briefing in Geneva, the United Nations' humanitarian capital.

Thousands of people injured in Tuesday's massive earthquake in the Caribbean country spent a third night waiting for help, many lying on sidewalks, as their despair turned to anger.

A spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said 17 search and rescue teams were deployed in the capital Port-au-Prince, with six more on their way, but no further teams were needed for now.

"There are pockets of survival, we shouldn't give up hope," spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said. "They are working around the clock."

No further field hospitals were required but medical teams including surgeons and medicines were badly needed, Byrs said.

At least 10 percent of housing in the capital was destroyed, making about 300,000 homeless, but in some areas 50 percent of buildings were destroyed or badly damaged, according to a preliminary assessment by U.N. disaster experts.

Under the U.N. appeal, the World Food Programme will seek to provide life-saving food rations to 2 million destitute people for the next month. A longer-term operation is planned up to July 15.

"We need high-energy biscuits and ready-to-eat meals as quickly as possible," WFP spokeswoman Emilia Casella said.

The WFP had reports from partner aid agencies that its warehouses in Haiti had been looted, but had not been able to reach them yet to verify whether its stocks were gone, she said.

"In an emergency, looting is something that is not unusual. Stores have been cleaned out. People in a desperate situation will do what they can to get food for their loved ones," Casella told reporters in Geneva.

The WFP distributed food to 4,000 people gathered at the prime minister's compound in Port-au-Prince on Thursday following an earlier hand-out in the town of Jacmel.

"We are trying to get the food we do have our hands on to people. What we have been able to do so far is a drop in the bucket," Casella said.

The WFP was also exploring the possibility of setting up some 200 collective kitchens in Port-au-Prince to feed the homeless, she said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSLDE60E0TX._CH_.2400

January 15, 2010

UN Chief Says Half of Haiti's Capital Damaged

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 12:43 p.m. ET
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says up to 50 percent of the buildings in Haiti's capital and other areas hardest hit by the earthquake have been damaged or destroyed.
The U.N. chief says the United Nations will launch an emergency appeal later Friday for $550 million to provide food, water, shelter and other essentials for millions of Haitians.
Ban says the international community's response has been ''robust.'' He acknowledges ''there is frustration'' among Haitians with the pace of relief efforts and says the U.N. is watching for any signs or unrest.
U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky says 37 U.N. personnel have been confirmed dead and 330 remain missing from about 12,000 people working for all U.N. operations in Haiti.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/01/15/world/AP-UN-UN-Haiti.html?_r=2

UN Foundation update from Haiti

UN Foundation update from Haiti: Our own Dr. Dan Carucci (VP, Global Health) is delivering medical supplies in Port-au-Prince. Track his photos and updates here: http://www.unfoundation.org/haiti

Friend -- We just received this message from the UN Foundation’s Dr. Daniel Carucci, who traveled to Haiti to deliver medical supplies and assess the situation on the ground in the aftermath of the 7.0 earthquake. I wanted to pass it along right away to give key supporters like you a firsthand look at how relief efforts there are unfolding. His message is a grim reminder of the devastation and urgent needs on the island. Dan will continue sending updates from the field. We encourage you to follow them at our Haiti Earthquake Response page. Thank you for your support as we assist the UN’s work and help the people of Haiti. -Kathy Calvin, CEO, UN Foundation Click here to support the UN Foundation’s critical work by donating to the Central Emergency Response Fund ======================================================================= It was dark as we made our approach into Port-au-Prince. The Haitian aircraft controls had closed the airport to all aircrafts but made an exception for us to land. There was the normal scattering of individual lights from the houses on the hills leading into the capital and an occasional car's headlights on the roads. As we got closer the extent of the damage became clear. There were concrete structures that were completely flattened and houses that were piles of rubble. We landed and I found a UN security officer who was transporting a small number of relief workers to the UN logistics office. He said many of his colleagues were missing and may have been killed.  He seemed in a mild state of shock. There is no cell phone communication but he said they have satellite and internet. He seemed so happy to meet someone from the UN family that had come to help. Daniel J. Carucci, MD, PhD Vice President for Global Health United Nations Foundation Sent via Blackberry