Red Cross Blogs

Haiti hit by another quake

By Sarah Oughton
January 20, 2010 at 3:02 pm

This morning, I was on the phone to Emily Knox, one of our emergency response delegates co-ordinating relief flowing into Haiti from the Dominican Republic, when my colleague stuck a note under my nose – another quake in Haiti.

As you can see from the Guardian’s report – it registered 6.1 on the Richter scale. So once again the population of quake-stricken Port-au-Prince wake from their sleep with another aftershock sending them running in the streets in terror.

Building structures are fragile. There is still a risk of more buildings collapsing and landslides. I cannot imagine the terror people are feeling right now.

And yet amidst the horror there are glimpses of hope and compassion as those caught up in the disaster rush to help and comfort each other.

Of course, this includes many Haitian Red Cross staff and volunteers. In the Port-au-Prince suburb of Pétionville, a team has been providing vital first aid assistance to hundreds of people wounded in the earthquake.

Hundreds of survivors have taken refuge in the town square. Families have set up make-shift tents using sheets, curtains or whatever could be salvaged from their crumbled homes.

And just a few metres away, a small branch of the Red Cross has been working out of a garage beneath the Mayor’s office since the first quake struck last Tuesday. It bears very little resemblance to a first aid station – the space is cramped and full of cars.

Rita Aristide, a Haitian Red Cross volunteer since 1999, said: “It may not be the best place with all these cars around but plenty of people are coming in and we are caring for them. We have been dressing wounds for hundreds of people.”

As always in a disaster, it is the local people on the ground who are first on the scene, helping each other. But they are not alone. And it’s being part of a global Movement that makes me really proud to be part of the Red Cross.

I know there’s been some criticism about aid not getting through fast enough. And I understand that. It is a desperate situation and of course things always need to be done faster and better.

But I also know that the aid workers out there are working round the clock – doing all they can to get aid to people as quick as is humanly possible.

Emily only had time to get a few hours sleep last night – not that she’s complaining at all, I’m just explaining why it was more important for her to get a precious extra 30 minutes sleep rather than write her blog before bed. It’s important that she’s on the ball to continue doing her job.

She told me that planes full of relief are coming in thick and fast and even the airport they’re using in Santo Domingo is getting to full capacity – they are now looking for another one to use.

Although the situation in Haiti is horrific, it’s good to know that people from all walks of life, around the world want to help. I just got a google alert about Annie Lennox’s latest blog.

Annie writes: “Haiti…It always seems that the ones who can least afford it are also those who get hit by the sharp end of catastrophe. Absolutely devastating. I’m making my own personal contribution to the British Red Cross, and I’m sure that everybody reading this blog will be doing something to support the situation there..”

To support out work please give to the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal.

Image 1 © ECHO

Image 2 and 3 © Talia Frenkel/American Red Cross

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Tags: earthquake, Haiti

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 at 3:02 pm and is filed under Emergencies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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