The worst earthquake to hit Haiti in 200 years – an enormous earthquake of 7.0 magnitude – has struck the country.
Wednesday 13 January 2010
An estimated 1.8 million residents were violently shaken by an earthquake and two aftershocks on 12 January. The earthquake hit about 10 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, the densely-populated Haitian capital, causing massive damage to property and loss of life.
Our response teams are already carrying out assessments on the ground, and are preparing to get life-saving supplies into the country. We have launched a £3 million appeal to help fund a major emergency response.
“Children and their families have been forced from their homes into an extremely stressful and dangerous environment,” said Ian Rodgers, Senior Emergency Advisor for the Save the Children, who is leading our response to the earthquake. “The priority now is to provide food, clean water, shelter and medical assistance to children and their families,” he added.
Children most vulnerable
“Children are the most vulnerable in this kind of crisis, and many may have lost their parents in the chaos of the earthquake," said Gareth Owen, Save the Children’s Emergency Director.
"It’s a hugely traumatic experience for any child to go through, and we have to make sure we get help and protection to them fast,” Owen continued. “Port-au-Prince is densely populated and sanitation is already very bad – many families don’t have toilets and piles of rubbish are strewn around the city – so we also need to prepare for the possibility of a major disease outbreak.”
Ian Rodgers, Save the Children's Emergency Response Adviser
"We could hear buildings still crumbling down five hours after the earthquake. Last night houses were down in the area surrounding our office. Debris fills the roads and emergency responders are having a difficult time reaching the wounded. The survivors, especially the children, are going to need a lot of support for weeks and months to come."
Major logistical challenges
Aid agencies are facing major logistical challenges to get help to families in urgent need. Electricity is currently down across the whole island. There is also a high likelihood of landslides, which could threaten more lives.
"It’s a very challenging operating environment, but Save the Children is used to responding to these kinds of challenges, and with money from this appeal we’ll be able to get essential help to families even quicker, and save more children’s lives,” Owen added.
Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and is prone to experiencing natural disasters. It suffered four hurricanes in a matter of weeks in 2008. The average life expectancy in Haiti is only 52 years.
Save the Children has worked in Haiti since 1985, primarily in the capital city of Port-au-Prince and the Central Plateau region, providing health, education, protection and food security programs to vulnerable children.
What your money could buy:
- £20 can buy three tarpaulins or plastic sheets to provide basic shelter to protect families
- £15 can buy 7 mosquito nets to protect children from malaria
- £15 can buy a hygiene kit with essentials such as soap, detergent, toothpaste, toothbrushes
- £10 can buy 6 buckets to help families get access to water.