Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Haiti Death Toll Could Reach 100s of Thousands: U.S. to Lead Humanitarian Effort

I'm just posting some quick information now.

See, Boston Globe, "
Earthquake in Haiti." (Via Memorandum.) And from ABC News, "Haiti: Earthquake's Death Toll Rises, Disaster Relief Mobilized: Port-au-Prince in Ruins; Obama Calls Haiti Tragedy 'Incomprehensible'":

A day after the great Haiti earthquake, government officials today estimated the death toll could surpass a seemingly unimaginable 100,000.

Stunned Haitians piled their dead on the crumbling streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and President Andre Preval reported stepping over dead bodies.

But as the dimensions of the disaster were still unfolding, Haiti's Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive told CNN that he believes there are well over 100,000 dead, and leading senator Youri Latortue estimated the number at possibly as high as 500,000, according the Associated Press.

While specifics on the number of casualties from the earthquake remained unclear, early reports point to heavy and widespread damage in a country that is the poorest in the western hemisphere.

President Obama today said the United States government would offer "swift, coordinated, and aggressive" aid to the estimated three million people caught in the disaster.
Plus, at USA Today, "Obama: Haiti will get 'full support' of U.S."

2 comments:

SR said...

It's amazing how Obama didn't have to wait 100 hours to begin funneling money to Haiti.

adam reeves said...

I've heard the news earlier on tv news, I was shocked and feel pity for the victims. For sure the government will do something about this tragedy.