Strong quake hits Haiti, hospital collapses (7.3)

[cali]

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- A strong earthquake has hit the impoverished country of Haiti, where a hospital has collapsed and people are screaming for help.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3. It occurred Tuesday afternoon and was centered about 14 miles (22 kilometers) west of the Caribbean nation's capital, Port-au-Prince.

An Associated Press videographer saw the collapsed hospital in Petionville.

No further details are immediately available.

http://www.seattlepi.com/national/1102ap_cb_haiti_earthquake.html

Fuck, fuck, fuck. Those poor people.

[CBR]

1. Oh God. How awful. nt

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

2. Jesus, 14 miles?

I'll be surprised if there's much left at all. :-(

[cali]

9. This is going to be terrible.

life is so tenuous there to begin with and now this.

[babylonsister]

3. Aw jeeze. How horrific. nt

[tekisui]

4. Oh, fuck.

That is tragic.

[thewiseguy]

5. I suspect there will be lots of casualties

[Electric Monk]

6. again?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7449241

[bigwillq]

13. Same quake, different thread.

OK?

[cally]

7. These poor people will need international help

What can we do to pressure our government to quickly offer aid?

[Tumbulu]

8. How terrible! My goodness, does it ever end? (nt)

[tekisui]

10. A tsunami watch is in effect for Haiti, Cuba, the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/12/haiti.earthquake/index.html

[thewiseguy]

14. The earthquake just hit 10 miles from a city with population of 3 million

Oh my god...

Such a shallow quake with this magnitude hitting within 10 miles of 3 million people is just a catastrophe of monumental proportions.

[tekisui]

16. This is just awful.

I didn't realize there were 3 million in the city. God, this is awful.

[cali]

17. terrible. I wish there was something I could do now.

They are going to need massive help.

[tekisui]

18. It is going to be a painful week.

Reports of several buildings collapsed:

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0112/haiti.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

[cali]

20. praying that there's no tsunami.

[BrightKnight]

30. .

[cali]

31. do they have the needed aid there? I kinda doubt it.

[bigwillq]

11. Oh jeez.

Not good news at all. :(

[donco6]

12. Can't those poor people catch a break???

Jeebus . . .

[nini]

15. My sponsored child is in the northeast part of the country

I hope he's ok ;-(

I have been hopeful lately seeing they may be starting to get some help there but between the hurricanes and this I just want to cry.

[highplainsdem]

19. 5.9 aftershock just reported on CNN

[Subdivisions]

23. Confirmed:

http://www.oe-files.de/gmaps/eqmashup.html

[Renew Deal]

21. Down to 7.0, but that's still a huge earthquake for Haiti.

Hopefully we can get some support there QUICKLY!

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010rja6.php

[hayu_lol]

22. Remember that on the Richter scale...

a 7 anything is twice as harsh as a 6. Not just an increment.

The immediate area is known for it's historic quakes.

[thewiseguy]

25. This earthquake is largest ever recorded in the region

Couple that with it being very shallow and just 10 miles from the capital city. This is very bad...

[Electric Monk]

28. Wrong. It's not double, it's ten times. It's logarithmic.

5.0 is 10x 4.0

6.0 is 10x 5.0

7.0 is 10x 6.0

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

24. Another aftershock 5.5

:cry:

[hootinholler]

32. The 7 followed by a 5.9 followed by a 5.5 all within 1/2 hour n/t

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

34. Another one 5.1 :(

[cali]

26. "the sky is just gray with dust"

<snip>

"Everybody is just totally, totally freaked out and shaken," said Henry Bahn, a visiting official with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "The sky is just gray with dust."

Mr. Bahn said he was walking to his hotel room when the ground began to shake.

"I just held on and bounced across the wall," he said. "I just hear a tremendous amount of noise and shouting and screaming in the distance."

Mr. Bahn said there were rocks strewn all over the place and he saw a ravine where several homes had been built. "It's just full of collapsed walls and rubble and barbed wire," he said.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126333470907826737.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLTopStories

[Parker CA]

27. Lasted for about 35 seconds. That's a serious, serious quake. Unconfirmed report that

the National Palace is damged. All of this coming from CNN conversation with someone live in Haiti.

[drm604]

29. Terrible.

Catastrophic. :cry:

[tekisui]

33. U.S. officials in Haiti reported that all land telephones and cell phones were down in Port-au-Princ

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34829978/ns/world_news-americas/