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Quake hits Haiti; reports of ``catastrophe of major proportions'' emerging


BY JACQUELINE CHARLES AND CAROL ROSENBERG

Federal and local aid is on its way to Haiti following a powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck near the capital Tuesday afternoon, crippling the impoverished island nation and severing communication with the outside world.

There were no fatalities reported as the aftershocks continued into the night, but there were growing, alarming reports of mass destruction to a country still reelign frombeing batttered by four hurricanes.

A hospital was reported to have collapsed and people were heard screaming for help.

Sections of the National Palace have crumbled and there were reports of injuries. The United Nations building may have also been severely damaged, along with a local university.

``There are people injured in the palace,'' said Fritz Longchamp, executive director of the palace. ``I'm calling for help and medical assistance for them.''

Haitian President René Préval and the First Lady have sought safe haven on the island, The Miami Herald has learned.

Part of the road to Canape Vert, a suburb of the capital city of Port-au-Prince, has collapsed, as have houses perched in the mountains of Petionville, where the quake was centered. Petionville is a suburb some 10 miles up from downtown from Port-au-Prince.

Several aftershocks followed the main 4:53 p.m. earthquake, according to The Associated Press and a tsunami alert was briefly issued for the region and canceled as a blanket of dust completely covered the city for about 10 minutes, USAID contract employee Mike Godfrey told CNN from Port-au-Prince.

``At this point I'm frustrated trying to find colleagues and staff,'' Godfrey said. ``Phones are not working...'' Eyewitness accounts of the destruction were hard-to-come-by, some came via Twittre, Facebook and Skype. Richard Morse, owner of the Oloffson Hotel in Port-au-Prince, sent Twits to the outside world.

``Just about all the lights are out in Port au Prince,'' he said. ``People still screaming but the noise is dying as darkness sets. Lots of rumors about which buildings were toppled.The Castel Haiti behind the Oloffson is a pile of rubble. It was eight stories high. Our guests are sitting out in the driveway.''

Haitian businessman Georges Sassine, who was in Washington, D.C., on his way back to the island nation, spoke to his wife minutes after the quake. ``She said, suddenly her car started shaking, and she saw houses crumbling and she could not understand what was happening.'' Antwan Edmund, former head of the Caribbean-Central American Action, said ``he was sitting in Port-au-Prince watching the mountain crumble.''

Raymond Alcide Joseph, Haiti's ambassador to the United States, told CNN that the quake has crippled his country.

``I spoke to a government official on the island who I reached on his cell phone and he told me: ``Tell the world this is a catastrophe of major proportions.''

President Barack Obama was aware of the tragedy in Haiti, The White House said, and the state department is working to confirm the safety of its personnel at the U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince.

``My thoughts and prayers go out to those who have been affected by this earthquake,'' Obama said in a statement. ``We are closely monitoring the situation and we stand ready to assist the people of Haiti.''

Former President Bill Clinton, U.N. Special Envoy for Haiti, issued a statement offering assistance. ``My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Haiti. My UN office and the rest of the UN system are monitoring the situation, and we are committed to do whatever we can to assist the people of Haiti in their relief, rebuilding and recovery efforts,'' he said.

chiggerbit wrote:Ok, Cocos plate (western one) vs Caribbean (eastern one).

Who started calling conan o'brien coco
Answer
Conan O'Brien's nickname CoCo started from a skit called Twitter Tracker. ChaCha for Now!

Earthquake in Haiti, possibly a million dead
By: Jason Rosenbaum Tuesday January 12, 2010 8:02 pm
Via Salon, click through for much more:

Some quick info about the devastating earthquake which took place today in Haiti. Keeping in touch with family online on Facebook–all in the US have not been able to reach family in Haiti. The UN building has reportedly been heavily damaged. UN has not accounted for many employees. No word on casualty numbers. CNN predicting half of the population of Port-au-Prince may perish. Populations PAP estimated at 2,000,000. A radio station covering the situation live is reporting that the whole neighborhood of Carrefour, Haiti is gone.

Aftershocks reverberating, People can only see dust, US sending in military troops, Tsumani warming is no longer in effect.

Listen Live via Radio (Creole) here

Photos via Facebook here:
Photos from HAITI EARTHQUAKE!

EARTHQUAKE HAITI Photos

Live CNN coverage of earthquake in Haiti: Watch CNN Live

Obama To Speak About Haiti

8:51 am

January 13, 2010

The White House just said that President Barack Obama will be making a statement at 10 a.m. ET about the disaster in Haiti and U.S. plans to assist the people there. (Update at 9:05 a.m ET: CNN says he may come out as soon as 9:30 a.m. ET.)

Last night, the White House released this statement from the president:

"My thoughts and prayers go out to those who have been affected by this earthquake. We are closely monitoring the situation and we stand ready to assist the people of Haiti."

And this morning, the White House said that when Obama met with his top aides last night, he told them "he expects an aggressive, coordinated effort by the U.S. government."

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/01/obama_speaks_about_haiti_at_10.html

Haiti is reeling from a massive earthquake, and U.S. and international agencies are scrambling to respond.

In a statement, Randy Martin, director of global emergency operations for the relief group Mercy Corps said, “Initial reports indicate that the quake has caused extensive damage, and we fear that casualties could be widespread.”

A few hours ago, I received this tweet from my friends Kira Kay and Jason Maloney of the Bureau for International Reporting, currently in Haiti to shoot a documentary. “Planning to head out at first light to Port au Prince,” they write. “Don’t know if we will have communications. Will post when we can #fb.” I’ll be following their tweets and Facebook posts all day.

The Coast Guard has mobilized cutters and aircraft: The service deployed the crews of a C-130 Hercules cargo plane; the Valiant, a Reliance-class cutter; and the medium-endurance cutters Forward, Tahoma and Mohawk. According to a Coast Guard statement, additional Coast Guard assets in the region are also standing by to render assistance if needed.

The U.S. military has a long history of involvement in Haiti, including major interventions like Operation Uphold Democracy in 1994 and 1995. More recently, Haiti has been a destination for military-led humanitarian assistance missions like Continuing Promise 2009, pictured here. The Associated Press, quoting White House sources, says that less than 20 U.S. military personnel are currently in the country, and they are prepared to take part in humanitarian operations.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/01/after-massive-quake-military-stands-by-to-aid-haiti/

DoYouEverWonder wrote:

Obama To Speak About Haiti

8:51 am

January 13, 2010

The White House just said that President Barack Obama will be making a statement at 10 a.m. ET about the disaster in Haiti and U.S. plans to assist the people there. (Update at 9:05 a.m ET: CNN says he may come out as soon as 9:30 a.m. ET.)

Last night, the White House released this statement from the president:

"My thoughts and prayers go out to those who have been affected by this earthquake. We are closely monitoring the situation and we stand ready to assist the people of Haiti."

And this morning, the White House said that when Obama met with his top aides last night, he told them "he expects an aggressive, coordinated effort by the U.S. government."

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/01/obama_speaks_about_haiti_at_10.html

Well at least they didn't have to take 5 days to sober him up just to make a half hearted response.



--------

Haiti is reeling from a massive earthquake, and U.S. and international agencies are scrambling to respond.

In a statement, Randy Martin, director of global emergency operations for the relief group Mercy Corps said, “Initial reports indicate that the quake has caused extensive damage, and we fear that casualties could be widespread.”

A few hours ago, I received this tweet from my friends Kira Kay and Jason Maloney of the Bureau for International Reporting, currently in Haiti to shoot a documentary. “Planning to head out at first light to Port au Prince,” they write. “Don’t know if we will have communications. Will post when we can #fb.” I’ll be following their tweets and Facebook posts all day.

The Coast Guard has mobilized cutters and aircraft: The service deployed the crews of a C-130 Hercules cargo plane; the Valiant, a Reliance-class cutter; and the medium-endurance cutters Forward, Tahoma and Mohawk. According to a Coast Guard statement, additional Coast Guard assets in the region are also standing by to render assistance if needed.

The U.S. military has a long history of involvement in Haiti, including major interventions like Operation Uphold Democracy in 1994 and 1995. More recently, Haiti has been a destination for military-led humanitarian assistance missions like Continuing Promise 2009, pictured here. The Associated Press, quoting White House sources, says that less than 20 U.S. military personnel are currently in the country, and they are prepared to take part in humanitarian operations.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/01/after-massive-quake-military-stands-by-to-aid-haiti/

Where were these guys after Katrina hit?

WHILE I SIT HERE TRYING TO THINK OF THINGS TO SAY


SOMEONE LIES BLEEDING IN A FIELD SOMEWHERE

SO IT WOULD SEEM WE'VE STILL GOT A LONG LONG WAY TO GO

I'VE SEEN ALL I WANNA SEE TODAY

WHILE I SIT HERE TRYING TO MOVE YOU ANYWAY I CAN


SOMEONE'S SON LIES DEAD IN A GUTTER SOMEWHERE

AND IT WOULD SEEM THAT WE'VE GOT A LONG LONG WAY TO GO

BUT I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE

SWITCH IT OFF IT WILL GO AWAY

TURN IT OFF IF YOU WANT TO

SWITCH IT OFF OR LOOK AWAY

WHILE I SIT AND WE TALK AND TALK AND WE TALK SOME MORE

SOMEONE'S LOVED ONE'S HEART STOPS BEATING IN A STREET SOMEWHERE

SO IT WOULD SEEM WE'VE STILL GOT A LONG LONG WAY TO GO, I KNOW

I'VE HEARD ALL I WANNA HEAR TODAY

TURN IT OFF IF YOU WANT TO (TURN IT OFF IF YOU WANT TO)

SWITCH IT OFF IT WILL GO AWAY (SWITCH IT OFF IT WILL GO AWAY)

TURN IT OFF IF YOU WANT TO (TURN IT OFF IF YOU WANT TO)

SWITCH IT OFF OR LOOK AWAY (SWITCH IT OFF OR LOOK AWAY)

SWITCH IT OFF

SWITCH IT OFF

SWITCH IT OFF

SWITCH IT OFF

SWITCH IT OFF

TURN IT OFF

Former NBC4 Intern Rescues Wife From Haiti Rubble
Shaken American husband helps rescue quake-trapped wife
By SHARON DONNELL
Updated 1:44 PM EST, Wed, Jan 13, 2010


A former NBC4 intern who is now a missionary in Haiti rescued his wife from the rubble left by Tuesday's devastating earthquake.

Frank Thorp Jr. is now at the epicenter of one of the worst natural disasters in recent history. He told NBC's "TODAY"
show that he was 100 miles away from Port-au-Prince when the 7.0 earthquake struck yesterday, but his wife Jillian was in
the capital.

Thorp had no idea at first that she might be in danger because there was no cell phone reception in his location and the quake felt mild at his location. Soon, though, he heard a rumor that Port-au-Prince had been hit "really hard." He made his way to the city as fast as he could, he said -- a roughly six-hour drive.

Thorp arrived in Port-au-Prince to find chaos in the streets.

"It's worse than a war zone," he said. "It's thousands and thousands of Haitians on the streets because their buildings and their houses have collapsed and they can't live in them."

When he arrived at his mission house, he realized that his wife and a colleague were trapped under the rubble. The group's
Haitian staff had already dug through the concrete ceiling of the house when Frank Thorp arrived. He helped the other
rescuers pull away bricks and wood and other debris. After a 10-hour ordeal, she was finally freed. "I pulled her out," he said.

Jillian Thorp "has some major bruises and she's having a hard time walking," but is otherwise OK, her husband said. The
man trapped with her has an apparent broken leg, and another member of the staff may lose both legs, Thorp said.

It is still too early to calculate the casualties from the quake and its aftermath, but from Frank Thorp's final description of
Haiti's capital, the numbers are likely to be grim.

"There are dead people. There are people dying on the streets, there are injured on the streets," he said. "There are so many people here that need help. It's absolutely horrible."
For a list of ways to help the people of Haiti, click here.For complete coverage of the earthquake and aftermath, click here.
First Published: Jan 13, 2010 11:29 AM EST

Jillian Thorp was one of two Connecticut residents who were believed to be trapped and injured after a 7.0 magnitude
earthquake shook Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Tuesday.

The executive director of Haitian Ministries for the Diocese of Norwich said Tuesday she believed the mission's acting
director, Thorp, and a management consultant, Charles Dietsch, who has been working with the ministry, were in the
mission house, which partially collapsed during the earthquake. Thorp said a man who was her was rescued and broke a leg and a woman lost both her legs. He did not say whether the man is Dietsch, but Kyn Tolson, the mission’s development coordinator, said both have been rescued. They are are injured but their injuries are not life-threatening.

The third person, the other woman rescued, is a Haitian native, Tolson told the Day of New London.
Jillian was trapped for 10 hours before being rescued, her husband said. Staff members had dug through the ceiling, helping access the trapped mission workers.
“It’s worse than a war zone,” Frank Thorp Jr. said. “It’s thousands and thousands of Haitians on the streets because their buildings and their houses have collapsed and they cannot live in them. … Every other building has collapsed.”
Thorp has been in Haiti since August, while Dietsch has been there only a few days, Tolson said.

Thorp is the daughter-in-law of retired Rear Adm. Frank Thorp, who retired in August as the Navy's chief information officer.
Frank Thorp told the Associated Press on Tuesday that he had been told that his 24-year-old daughter-in-law had tried to
call for help using her cell phone and that her leg was badly injured.

Jillian had been living in Haiti since August when she took the lead at the mission house, which works with orphans and
children with HIV, he said. Before moving there, Jillian had traveled to Haiti several times with her family to participate in
humanitarian work, he said.
"She's a superstar," he said of Jillian's devotion to aid work.
The Roman Catholic diocese mission house was located in Petionville, in Haiti's Mouru Hercule area, Emily Smack, the executive director, said.
Smack was in contact with Thorp and Dietsch until about 8 p.m. on Tuesday, when the cell phone they had been using died.
Tolson has not been able to contact the house since the earthquake, which knocked out phone lines and power.
“It’s scary because the infrastructure, in the best of circumstances, is tough and it sounds like that it’s chaotic there. Just utterly chaotic,” Tolson said.
Haitian Ministries is accepting donations for relief at their Uncasville office. The group also has a satellite office in middletown, called Haiti’s Back Porch.
People looking for information about family members can call the State Department at 888-407-4747.

dbcooper41 wrote:because i no longer rule out anything, i have to wonder if this might not be some sort of a man-made event. i can't guess how right now but the following 2 stories seem a bit suspicious. the first appears to be obvious bs, the second lends credence to the bs theory.
first we have a traditional disneyesque feel good story.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local ... 26602.html

Former NBC4 Intern Rescues Wife From Haiti Rubble
Shaken American husband helps rescue quake-trapped wife
By SHARON DONNELL
Updated 1:44 PM EST, Wed, Jan 13, 2010


A former NBC4 intern who is now a missionary in Haiti rescued his wife from the rubble left by Tuesday's devastating earthquake.

Frank Thorp Jr. is now at the epicenter of one of the worst natural disasters in recent history. He told NBC's "TODAY"
show that he was 100 miles away from Port-au-Prince when the 7.0 earthquake struck yesterday, but his wife Jillian was in
the capital.

Thorp had no idea at first that she might be in danger because there was no cell phone reception in his location and the quake felt mild at his location. Soon, though, he heard a rumor that Port-au-Prince had been hit "really hard." He made his way to the city as fast as he could, he said -- a roughly six-hour drive.

Thorp arrived in Port-au-Prince to find chaos in the streets.

"It's worse than a war zone," he said. "It's thousands and thousands of Haitians on the streets because their buildings and their houses have collapsed and they can't live in them."

When he arrived at his mission house, he realized that his wife and a colleague were trapped under the rubble. The group's
Haitian staff had already dug through the concrete ceiling of the house when Frank Thorp arrived. He helped the other
rescuers pull away bricks and wood and other debris. After a 10-hour ordeal, she was finally freed. "I pulled her out," he said.

Jillian Thorp "has some major bruises and she's having a hard time walking," but is otherwise OK, her husband said. The
man trapped with her has an apparent broken leg, and another member of the staff may lose both legs, Thorp said.

It is still too early to calculate the casualties from the quake and its aftermath, but from Frank Thorp's final description of
Haiti's capital, the numbers are likely to be grim.

"There are dead people. There are people dying on the streets, there are injured on the streets," he said. "There are so many people here that need help. It's absolutely horrible."
For a list of ways to help the people of Haiti, click here.For complete coverage of the earthquake and aftermath, click here.
First Published: Jan 13, 2010 11:29 AM EST

now check out this story:
here we find out the hero has a famous relative.

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/loca ... 92742.html

Jillian Thorp was one of two Connecticut residents who were believed to be trapped and injured after a 7.0 magnitude
earthquake shook Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Tuesday.

The executive director of Haitian Ministries for the Diocese of Norwich said Tuesday she believed the mission's acting
director, Thorp, and a management consultant, Charles Dietsch, who has been working with the ministry, were in the
mission house, which partially collapsed during the earthquake. Thorp said a man who was her was rescued and broke a leg and a woman lost both her legs. He did not say whether the man is Dietsch, but Kyn Tolson, the mission’s development coordinator, said both have been rescued. They are are injured but their injuries are not life-threatening.

The third person, the other woman rescued, is a Haitian native, Tolson told the Day of New London.
Jillian was trapped for 10 hours before being rescued, her husband said. Staff members had dug through the ceiling, helping access the trapped mission workers.
“It’s worse than a war zone,” Frank Thorp Jr. said. “It’s thousands and thousands of Haitians on the streets because their buildings and their houses have collapsed and they cannot live in them. … Every other building has collapsed.”
Thorp has been in Haiti since August, while Dietsch has been there only a few days, Tolson said.

Thorp is the daughter-in-law of retired Rear Adm. Frank Thorp, who retired in August as the Navy's chief information officer.
Frank Thorp told the Associated Press on Tuesday that he had been told that his 24-year-old daughter-in-law had tried to
call for help using her cell phone and that her leg was badly injured.

Jillian had been living in Haiti since August when she took the lead at the mission house, which works with orphans and
children with HIV, he said. Before moving there, Jillian had traveled to Haiti several times with her family to participate in
humanitarian work, he said.
"She's a superstar," he said of Jillian's devotion to aid work.
The Roman Catholic diocese mission house was located in Petionville, in Haiti's Mouru Hercule area, Emily Smack, the executive director, said.
Smack was in contact with Thorp and Dietsch until about 8 p.m. on Tuesday, when the cell phone they had been using died.
Tolson has not been able to contact the house since the earthquake, which knocked out phone lines and power.
“It’s scary because the infrastructure, in the best of circumstances, is tough and it sounds like that it’s chaotic there. Just utterly chaotic,” Tolson said.
Haitian Ministries is accepting donations for relief at their Uncasville office. The group also has a satellite office in middletown, called Haiti’s Back Porch.
People looking for information about family members can call the State Department at 888-407-4747.

so our hero is a former tele news guy and the son of a rear admiral who was the navy mouth piece. shades of jim morrison. of course this story could be totally on the up and up, but considering our history in haiti i doubt it.
will we send a few troops to "help"?

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