Strong aftershocks in Haiti spread fear and chaos

Eight days after an earthquake devastated Haiti, another strong aftershock, measuring 6.1 in magnitude, struck the country in the early hours of this morning.

Wednesday 20 January 2010

The slums of Canape Vert, in Port-au-Prince, have been devastated by the major earthquake. Some already-weakened structures have collapsed in the aftershocks.
Photo credit: Frederic Dupoux/courtesy of Getty Images.

People ran screaming in terror into the streets as the tremors hit. Save the Children staff in Port-au-Prince, the country's capital city, heard already weakened structures collapsing.

We’re deeply concerned about the safety of children living in the disaster zone.

“Children and families are still sleeping in the open, among the rubble. They are very vulnerable — this aftershock would have terrified them. We are working flat out to assist them, bringing in supplies and rolling them out to the people who need them as fast as we can,” said Annie Foster, Save the Children’s team leader in Port-au-Prince.

The death toll from the disaster is estimated to be around 200,000; about half of the deceased are likely to be children.

Hope amid the chaos

We have distributed food and water for 2,000 people to a local hospital. Food included items such as tinned fish, crackers, rice, beans, powdered milk, tomato sauce, bottled water, and cooking oil.

International rescue teams are still recovering people from the rubble. Two more people were rescued on 18 January.

Staff accounted for

All our staff are safe and have been accounted for.

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