OCHA Haiti Earthquake situation report
HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES
• The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance will not be determined until the extent of the damage is known. The death toll is unknown but is expected to be high.
• Immediate priorities include search and rescue, medical services and supplies, clean water and sanitation, emergency shelter, food, logistics and telecommunications.
• A limited number of Search and Rescue teams have arrived at Port-au-Prince airport.
• The members of the UN Disaster and Assessment Coordination (UNDAC) members have started to arrive in country. A Reception Centre is being set up at the Port-au-Prince airport.
• The United Nations will immediately release US$10 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). A Flash Appeal is likely to be issued within the next days.
Situation Overview
On 12 January at 4.53 p.m. (local time), an earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale hit a highly populated area in Ouest Province of Haiti (population 2.2 million), 17km south-west of Port-au-Prince. Carrefour and Jacmel are also affected. There are no reports of damages in neighboring Dominican Republic and Cuba.
Thousands are feared dead and many more injured. Unknown numbers are still buried under the rubble. There are reports that people are scared and many remain in the streets as aftershocks are still being felt.
The Humanitarian Coordinator has requested an UNDAC team. Two members have arrived in country and the remainder of the team is expected to arrive on Friday, 15 January. United Nations Assistant-Secretary-General Edmund Mullet will be appointed as acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General of MINUSTAH. He will arrive in Haiti on Thursday, 14 January.
Initial reconnaissance and aerial assessments have been undertaken. Damage to buildings and infrastructure is widespread and considerable. Port-au-Prince is still without critical infrastructure such as electricity and water. The airport in Port-au-Prince is reportedly operational, but roads to the capital are partly blocked.
The United Nations Mission for the Stabilization in Haiti (MINUSTAH) has set up an Emergency Joint Operations Centre at the Port-au-Prince airport to coordinate incoming teams and humanitarian aid, especially medical assistance. MINUSTAH has around 3,000 troops and police in and around Port-au-Prince to help maintain order and assist in relief efforts. MINUSTAH engineers have also begun clearing some of the main roads in Port-au-Prince, which will allow assistance and rescuers to reach those in need.
The UN Headquarters at the Christopher Hotel collapsed in the earthquake. Many people are still trapped inside. UN personnel seriously injured in the earthquake were evacuated from all sites overnight to UN medical facilities near the airport. The World Food Programme office remains undamaged and is being used to host colleagues from other UN agencies.
Several nations have made commitments to assist the relief effort. Overland support is being organized from the Dominican Republic. The US is moving naval vessels into the area.
Humanitarian Needs and Response
The overall needs will not be determined until a rapid needs assessment can take place. However, immediate priorities include search and rescue, medical services and supplies, clean water and sanitation, emergency shelter, food, logistics and telecommunications. Medical assistance is the priority due to a high number of people suffering traumatic injuries. Clean water is expected to be needed soon. Medical aid organizations are struggling to help people with severe traumas and crushed limbs.
The country team has mobilized five clusters: Logistics (Lead: WFP); Shelter/Non-Food Items (Lead: 10M in consultation with IFRC); WatSan (Lead: UNDP until UNICEF arrives on base); Health (Lead: WHO); and Food (Lead: WFP).
More than 27 countries have offered Urban Search and Rescue Teams. Ecuador, Taiwan, Israel, Cuba are sending personnel to help in search and rescue or will provide relief items. The United States is sending ships, helicopters, transport planes and a 2,000-member Marine unit. The Dominican Republic Search and Rescue Team is already on the ground.
Search and Rescue
Search and rescue teams are arriving from Guadeloupe, the Dominican Republic and the United States. They are being deployed to major public buildings, hotels and hospitals. UN soldiers and police are helping to maintain law and order, as well as assisting with rescue operations.
Logistics
The airport in Port-au-Prince is operational with radio assisted, line-of-sight landings only. It is being supported by the US. The availability of refueling, cargo and aircraft handling equipment is not yet known, according to the Logistics Cluster. It is understood that the airport will be open for humanitarian air flights only. Roads to the capital are partially blocked. The SAR team from Iceland and the USA Fairfax team are assisting in setting up the Reception Centre.
Health
The hospital in Petionville, a hillside Port-au-Prince district, is destroyed and most of the medical centres have collapsed. WHO has identified the following priorities: treatment of people with large traumatic wounds; prevention of infection of wounds; provision of drinkable water and sanitary services; and ensuring that nursing infants is not discontinued. In the coming days, the prevention of transmittable diseases such as respiratory and diarrheal diseases will be the main priority. WHO is deploying a 12-person team specializing in the care of a large number of victims, coordination of emergency sanitary aid and cadaver disposal.
MSF has reported treating about 600 people in the affected area and is looking at sending additional medical supplies. Medecin du Monde is sending a charter plane with logistical materials and medical equipment, as well as medical professionals. This team will be composed of doctors, surgeons, nurses and logisticians who will be deployed to administer first aid and surgical operations, as well as assessing any other medical needs. UNFPA is sending teams from its EI Salvador office and providing reproductive health kits.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is sending a plane carrying 40 metric tons of medical goods. The flight is scheduled to depart Geneva on Thursday and to arrive in the region on Friday.
Food
WFP has designated the UN Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) in Panama as a staging area for the provision of humanitarian support to Haiti. WFP is immediately airlifting 86 metric tons of high-energy biscuits (enough for a half million emergency meals) from its satellite logistics hub in EI Salvador. WFP will be providing significant quantities of ready-to-eat food that can be consumed immediately by those who have no access to cooking facilities. High-energy biscuits will also be distributed to those who have lost their homes and can no longer feed themselves.
Shelter
At the global level, IFRC and 10M are discussing the provision of shelter coordination capacity in Haiti. 10M is in contact with its office in Port-au-Prince, and IFRC has shelter coordination capacity on standby (including an Information Manager) for rapid deployment to provide interim shelter coordination services pending formal interagency agreement on roles and responsibilities.
Funding
The United Nations will immediately release $10 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). A Flash Appeal is under development and will likely be issued within several days. Venezuela, Mexico,
The European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) will use its fast-track relief funding to provide a €3 million (US$4.3 million) initial package of humanitarian assistance. The Inter-American Development Bank said it would provide $200,000 in immediate aid. The Government of Canada will provide up to $5 million for urgent humanitarian assistance. The United States and France have also pledged contributions. China will donate US$1 million, according to news report.
All humanitarian partners including donors and recipient agencies are encouraged to inform FTS of cash and in-kind contributions by sending an email to: fts@reliefweb.int.
For more information, please visit www.reliefweb.int.
FACTBOX-Key facts about Haiti
Source: Reuters
Following are key facts about Haiti, which was struck by a major earthquake on Tuesday that knocked down buildings in the capital of Port-au-Prince.
* The Caribbean nation of 9 million is a former French colony and the world's oldest black republic, founded by freed slaves following a revolt that led to independence in 1804.
* Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas with an annual per-capita income of $560. It ranks 146th out of 177 countries on the UNDP Human Development Index.
* More than half the population lives on less than $1 a day and 78 percent on less than $2. There is a high infant mortality rate (60 for every 1,000 births) and the prevalence of HIV among those between ages 15 and 49 is 2.2 percent.
* Haiti's infrastructure is close to total collapse and severe deforestation has left only 2 percent of forest cover.
* After decades of dictatorship, former Roman Catholic priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide became Haiti's first freely elected leader in 1990. He was ousted by a military coup in 1991 but reinstated with U.S. backing. He was forced out of the country and into exile in 2004 by a rebellion of gangs and former soldiers.
* Haiti has been led by President Rene Preval since May 2006 when the country returned to constitutional rule.
Sources: World Bank, UNDP, CIA