Haitian Earthquake

There has been a massive earthquake in Haiti, with the capital Port-au-Prince being particularly affected. The news coming in is rather sporadic at the moment, but it is becoming clear that the damage has been catastrophic. Initial reports are that a hospital and many government buildings have collapsed, including the Presidential Palace. Slum areas have also been badly hit by landslides. Reports are that the tremors were felt significantly in the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Jamaica, not sure of any damage though.

Haiti has a lot of problems as it is and this disaster risks the country sliding into an even worse state. I’m not sure what I can do from here in Scotland, but I’ll be seeing what I can do tomorrow. In Bermuda, although we have our own problems to deal with, we should still be able to offer help to our Haitian cousins, and I expect the unions and charities to start organising whatever help they can. If you can, get to the Red Cross and see what help they need.

UPDATES

The British Red Cross has launched an appeal for assistance – anyone living in the UK please contact them to help.

CARICOM’s disaster agency, CDERA, is mobilising to assist but there isn’t a lot of information on their site.

The BBC has coverage and pictures of the disaster.

There are some live reports coming from Haitian bloggers although most of the phonelines remain down. Below are a selection or recents posts from them and other Caribbean blogs:

Livesay Haiti Weblog – The Morning After – Earthquake Haiti 2010
The Haitian Blogger – Earthquake Rocks Haiti
Repeating Islands – Wyclef Jean Appeals For Help