I think Arney has touched on the central and hardest problem to be solved. How to get the help and supplies distributed throughout the city, and how to get it into the hands of the people who need it and not the profiteers.

In addition, soon, if not already, the decomposing dead and lack to sanitary facilities are going to render whole areas uninhabitable. Removal and burial and setting up sanitary facilities are as urgent as getting food and water to the survivors.

IMO the amount of effort needed to organize and run the distribution of aid, and removal of the dead is far far greater than anyone has even begun to think about: and these are things that need to be done now.

I hope I'm wrong, but I think the worst is yet to come.

Dagny's correct, FAA halts air traffic to Haiti, no room for planes.

Birds-eye view of the damage, via satellite. You can zoom in:


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/spe...ml?hpid=topnews


Satellite image of Port-au-Prince earthquake damage

Explore this GeoEye satellite image, taken Wednesday at 10:27 a.m., a day after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti's captial and surrounding area.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal...ml?hpid=topnews

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION:

The Federal Aviation Administration has canceled a ground stop on civilian flights from the U.S. to Haiti after prohibiting such flights for most of Thursday.

Haitian authorities are slowly accepting inbound flights, but long delays are possible, according to FAA advisories.

Authorities prohibited flights from entering Haitian airspace earlier Thursday as the Port-au-Prince tarmac was clogged with several planes trying to unload relief supplies.

Congestion will remain a problem in the coming days, FAA said.

At least 30 aircraft were parked around the Port-au-Prince airport runway for most of Thursday, with some planes on the ramps around the runway and others on grassy areas.

The Port-au-Prince airport also lacks sufficient fuel to refuel departing flights.

Track FAA’s advisories on Haitian airspace here.

FAA dispatched at least two inspectors on Wednesday to help assess the condition of airport runways in Port-au-Prince and Cape Haitien. Both airports are open only to private and humanitarian flights, it said. The inspectors will check runway surfaces and lighting, with an eye toward ensuring the airports can support round-the-clock civil relief operations.

The first planes from Canada were arriving today. The Minister of Defence mentioned that water treatment and medics were part of the first shipments.
At least they are not facing cold weather on top of the rest of their problems.

I can't help wondering if the attention this disaster brings might spur changes in their government.
Their government has been very bad for a very long time.

God bless America.


Updated 7:53 p.m. ET Thursday

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES:

The federal government will deploy thousands of medical professional in the coming days to assist Haitians recovering from the earthquake. More than 250 government doctors, medical professionals are en route, HHS said Thursday night. More than 12,000 personnel could possibly assist in the coming days.

Department officials activated the National Disaster Medical System, which provides assistance to state, local and federal authorities following major disasters, especially in caring for casualties evacuated back to the U.S.

Teams of doctors, nurses, paramedics, emergency medical technicians and surgical physicians with the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps will travel to Haiti, along with other medical personnel from Georgia, California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Florida, HHS said. The teams will bring along 22,000 pounds of medical equipment and supplies.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will also assist by checking the country's water and food supply.

And God bless Canada, and all the peoples of the world who are helping.

Well said. In March 2006, Popular Mechanics came out with a piece about Katrina myths titled "Debunking the Myths of Hurricane Katrina: Special Report" (http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/earth/2315076.html). It makes for some interesting reading, and offers a cautionary tale about the accuracy or 'current' media reporting. It may be wise to reserve judgment for now, until the quality of the information being provided has been ascertained.

I think my thinking mirrors Martin's in general when it comes to disasters, but I was watching CNN tonight, before I turn in, and I saw some scenes of a vast tent city and seeing that scene made me nervous. I think we've been a bit unintentionally misled by the TV coverage because most shots are limited to these narrow streets and you only see a limited number of people at one time, or else you see these aerial shots of collapsed buildings and few people. But in reality, this is a vast, teeming, densely populated city, and scenes like that park better illustrate how many people are crammed together in this city.

The earthquake was Tuesday and here it is, almost going to be Friday as I write this. I imagine that many or even most people have had little to nothing to eat or even drink since the earthquake, or else the lucky ones have the money to pay an arm and leg on the black market but that money won't last. Just thinking about that tent city--if a water truck pulls up now into the middle of that sea of humanity, with only enough water for a fraction of the people there, how is that scene going to play out? I really hope that people can remain calm and orderly, but now that the shock and confusion of the earthquake must be wearing off by now, I fear that desperation could turn things ugly.

As in many other developing countries, there were food riots last year in Port-Au-Prince when world food prices were going through the roof. UN peacekeepers and Haitian National Police had to battle protesters for a week, protecting the Presidential Palace. Riots, looting, and arsons were common. Things were so bad, the Senators voted to oust the prime minister. So Haiti is certainly no stranger to mass violence.

I really think it's a race between showing the people that food, water, medical care, taking care of the dead is here or at least imminent, and the boiling over of frustrated and desperate Haitians. The planes are stacking up at the airport, but as far as I know, nothing is really going out to the people yet, and that must frustrate a lot of Haitians. (But really, how many people can you feed with the contents of one plane? Compared to millions of city residents--not many. They need to get that port up and running again.)

I think that comment is highly inappropriate.

FIY, there are around 9000 people from UN in a peace keeping operation at Haiti. According to media reports, they have suffered some losses including the collapse of the head quarter. However, the main body of operations seems to be intact and I am sure that is a priceless asset in the situation that unfolds now.