I'm telling you DUers

[malaise]

at least 100,000 Haitians died in this quake. This will be the worst disaster in this hemisphere ever. Prepare for frightening news over the next few days. Concrete without steel reverts to sand with an earthquake of this magnitude.

[Solly Mack]

1. I'm still up and watching it on the news. I fear the worst as well.

[malaise]

17. UN building in Haiti collapsed

This is unbelievable

[Solly Mack]

19. Yes..USAID guy's voice is filled with shock

[MichiganVote]

2. That has got to be one of the worst places on earth to live.

[malaise]

4. Not really

I know lots of people who would never leave.

[hfojvt]

87. their overnight low is forecasted to be 72 degrees

How's that for terrible, Michigan?

[localroger]

107. You would be surprised

My wife, who has travelled a lot to some really off-track places to look at birds, puts it like this:

Mexico is definitely the third world, but once you get away from the border/edge places like Cancun and Tijuana where the first and third worlds clash, it's not a generally unpleasant place to live. Wages are low but so are prices, there is diverse and plentiful (mostly locally grown) food, and nobody will stop you from building a shack out of orange crates if that's the only way to get shelter. Lots of Mexican housing started out as such shacks that were gradually improved into something resembling decent housing. Electricity is generally available, though maybe not on your property or without a bit of a walk. Lots of people have satellite TV (but not necessarily big-screen TV's), lots have cell phones, and most can read.

Kenya is the next tier, which makes rural Mexico look like the first world by comparison. Major commercial roads are mud tracks that turn into swamps in the rain, where the locals hang out hoping to make a few bucks hand hauling your car out -- as in ten or fifteen guys literally picking your car up out of the mud. Clothes are laid on the ground to dry because clotheslines are a luxury. Food is generally available but not very diverse. TV's and cellphones are luxuries but not unheard of to most people.

Madagascar is the next tier, making Kenya look like a first world nation. Outside of the capital, hardly anyone has electricity, there are only a few passable roads in the entire country, entire regions are only accessible by treacherous overland hiking or air, there is hardly any meat in the diet at all and that mostly from scrawny chickens that have to forage for themselves, and that bottled water bottle you were going to throw away is a treasure some child will proudly bring home to his family, who can use it to save important liquids. As for things like cell phones and TV's, much of the population not only hasn't ever seen one, they have never heard of them. And all this was before their recent military coup, which ousted the guy who was trying to change all this.

While conditions in Haiti have sometimes been desperate, I suspect most Haitians at least know what cell phones and TV sets are, and can afford clotheslines.

[MichiganVote]

108. Interesting comparisons. I once did research on Haiti in grad school. It was amazing

until colonialism ruined the forests and basically stole the country's natural resources. It has never recovered partly b/c its location is so ideal for the series of corrupt schemes and governments it has had.

But no thanks, I'll settle for civilization. :)

[amborin]

120. Mexico

is not really considered third world

it's an upper middle income nation (the new typology for nations is in terms of income levels, not worlds)....

[WeDidIt]

3. Can't deny it, you're probably on the money

Sumatra wasn't hit as bad with the Tsunami.

[slipslidingaway]

5. Hope you are wrong :( n/t

[LuvNewcastle]

6. I hope they get a lot of aid.

If anybody needs it, they do.

[mdmc]

7. oh my

..

[WeDidIt]

13. Highly dense population in a small area

coupled with the fact that it's so poor that nothing is bullt to handle an earthquake of 6.2, let alone a 7.0 means lots and lots of dead people.

Add to that the lack of both food and water and we're looking at a humanitarian disaster on par with the Sumatra Earthquake/Tsunami.

[malaise]

36. Food and water will get there at sunrise tomorrow

Everyone is working on this one.

[varelse]

8. This is tragic

80% of the people were living in poverty before this earthquake. Do you believe that our nation help them rebuild and recover?

[ProdigalJunkMail]

12. I will...as much as I can...

[w8liftinglady]

9. are you seeing much damage in your neck of the woods?

Do you anticipate a lot of refugees in your area?Do you feel like the Red Cross would be the best place to direct funds to help these people?We become disconnected from the realities of he world-it's much easier to change the channel.

[malaise]

16. No not much damage here

just minor stuff in Portland

[wtbymark]

10. 4 more aftershock in the past hour

from 4.6, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 most recent

[babylonsister]

11. Holy crap. That many, malaise? Really? Ugh. nt

[malaise]

38. Could be more

3 million people live in the city

[malaise]

39. BBC coverage

http://news.bbc.co.uk/

[Union Yes]

14. Are you safe where you're at? I hope so! thanks for the update. Tragic. nt

[malaise]

45. Yep

unless our fault decides to shake us up as well. Many people here live in squalor and a serious quake would kill thousands in Jamaica. We're the lucky ones - our place was built according to earthquake and hurricane regulations.

[Stinky The Clown]

15. 7.0, shallow, 7 miles from the city

Unbelievable.

Now being termed the biggest earthquake in the region's recorded history.

[WeDidIt]

24. All 14 aftershocks have been shallow, too.

So the damage continues.

[malaise]

25. That's true

CNN just mentioned Jamaica

[spanone]

18. this is horrific...

[malaise]

21. The real problem is those thousands of houses on the hill side

with no steel. This is horrific

[MuseRider]

20. My husband and I were just asked the other day

to join a friend on a medical mission there to do teaching.

[malaise]

41. Wow you'd never have worried about an earthquake and

that makes this twice as painful.

[Dappleganger]

65. A close friend of mine is packing her bags tonight...

she isn't mennonite but she travels with them doing medical work about every other summer to do nurses training and clinics out in the country (she's a practitioner). She's very anxious to get down there to help with setting up makeshift ER clinics (her specialty is pediatric ER).

[malaise]

72. Hug her for us

Lots of people are heading there from Jamaica this morning. The tower at the airport is gone but that didn't stop American Airlines from taking off 90 minutes after the earthquake yesterday so I guess aircraft can land with assistance from other regional airports.

[Dappleganger]

90. Ok, I will!

It's good to hear that there are ways to get in and out of there. I thought that the tower was still there but just out of power?

[DesertRat]

22. It's so devastating

My heart breaks for the Haitian people. DH and I are going on donate to a relief agency asap.

[tekisui]

23. It will be one long night and a painful week.

I wish I could help.

[Hello_Kitty]

26. Oh my god. eom

[onehandle]

27. Fuck. Just fuck. nt

[MadMaddie]

28. This quake hit right underneath Haiti

the quake in CA several years ago that collapsed the bridges was out in the ocean....this is going to be bad....

Oh and it was just reported that it was only 6 miles deep...not 200...

[malaise]

29. And that's the reason for my prediction

This is a disaster of epic proportions.

[XemaSab]

62. Not to contradict you

but the '89 earthquake was in fact on land, albeit in a rural area.

The thing that kept the Bay Area safe was VERY strict building codes. We have very little here made out of brick, for example.

There were some brick buildings (such as those in downtown Santa Cruz) and concrete structures (such as the Nimitz Freeway) that failed, but most of the damage was due to some odd building constructions (such as apartment buildings over 2-walled garages in the Marina District) and freak accidents (such as the partial collapse of the Bay Bridge, where a segment of the road basically came unhitched on one side).

The headline the next day said "Hundreds Dead in Huge Quake" but there were only 57 people killed, 41 of whom died on the Nimitz Freeway. Of the other 16 people killed, 1 died on the Bay Bridge, 4 died in the Marina District, and 3 died in downtown Santa Cruz.

Without strict building codes, it would have been much worse than it could have been.

[StarfarerBill]

30. I suspect you're not, but I sincerely hope you're wrong, Malaise.

:cry:

[malaise]

34. I hope I'm wrong too

but given the scenario in the city, I expect the worst

[Skittles]

31. what's the best thing I can do to help?

[malaise]

33. Deal with a trusted charity

I like Doctors without Borders.

We have links we'll send to directly in Haiti but if you're in the US send help through trusted charities only.
I'd imagine tents, bedding and clothing are most important - food and water are on the way from all surrounding countries.

[Skittles]

37. will do

I have donated to DWB before and I admire them - once I donated for a specific crisis, and they asked if it was OK for my funds to be directed elsewhere because they had received enough for that crisis - very ethical indeed

[SidDithers]

40. Kick. Good advice...nt

Sid

[liberation]

96. Seconded, my better half worked for DWF for six months right after she finished her residency

A great organization.


I am still in shock regarding the magnitude of this disaster. So I have nothing really worthwhile to add...

[defendandprotect]

105. Doctors Without Borders is one of my favorites . . . I'll contribute to them . . .

Thank you for the reminder --

[unapatriciated]

118. we contribute yearly to DWB and just sent an additional $100 to them in Haiti.

Our mobil phone company is Credo, we round up monthly and at the end of the year vote on where the funds will go.
DWB, Amnesty International and the ACLU are our top three.
Hubby lame54 is passionate about DWB.

[Hekate]

66. Rachel Maddow's site has links to about 30 groups. Link...

Rachel's link
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34834553/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show

www.directrelief.org/
Direct Relief International is one of my favorites; it spends almost nothing on overhead, and everything on getting medical supplies where needed.

Hekate

[clear eye]

77. I will be contributing to Action Against Hunger

which has a top rating w/ Charity Navigator and is active already in Haiti. http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/where-we-work/haiti

Obviously the people there are going to need other things in addition to medical supplies, and this is one of few reputable groups working on water, sanitation, and shelter needs in Haiti.

[ima_sinnic]

80. thanks for that link, just donated

I like this one because it has been doing work in Haiti since 1985 and is established there. The website says it has 56 locals as staff people.
I am also donating to Direct Relief International.

[Avalux]

32. Horrible. Just heard the UN Headquarters collapsed.

I fear you are correct malaise. :-(

[malaise]

115. 22 UN staffer bodies pulled from the rubble

One man rescued so far. 150 still missing - what a disaster.

[Tailormyst]

35. This is so sad.

I wish there was something I could do to help. Those people had a rough enough life without mother nature slamming them yet again...

[malaise]

43. Excellent coverage on BBC International

Fires all over the capital. This is frightening.
Markets collapsed, hotel collapsed, hospital collapsed

[Tailormyst]

52. Someone on tweeter said the childrens hospital collapsed

and they could hear the cries from the rubble. I'm going to give to that doctors organization someone mentioned earlier in the morning.

[suffragette]

42. I fear you're right

And with so many strong aftershocks coming so quickly, there will likely be much further devastation before help can arrive.
My heart goes out to them.

[Dr.Phool]

44. I certainly hope not.

The poor people of Haiti have endured much more than their share of misery for decades.

I'll do what I can to help.

[malaise]

46. Strongest quake in Haiti in 200 years

This was the big one

[applegrove]

47. Yup I think it is going to be over 100,000 too. I can't watch the news. It is too sad.

[malaise]

48. I'm watching BBC now

One of the major hotels collapsed
The biggest market collapsed
A hospital collapsed
This is horrific - thousands are buried in the rubble.

[applegrove]

49. They had trouble taking care of wounded kids when a school collapsed last year.

They almost didn't have the resources in the hospitals then. So many of the wounded today are not going to be able to get help. It is just terrible.

[tekisui]

50. National Palace down:

http://www.haitifeed.com/?p=894

[CBR]

51. Wow. Terrible. nt

[EFerrari]

53. al Jazeera is covering this pretty well. Those poor people, malaise.

:(

[malaise]

70. There are no words sis

The scale of this disaster will sink in in a few hours

[KittyWampus]

54. How will aid get to these people? There is no infrastructure and the government is corrupt

[Odin2005]

55. This is gonna be VERY, VERY, horrible!

:cry:

[mzmolly]

56. Beyond horrible.

:(

[jimlup]

57. I hope you are wrong but fear that you are not

[highplainsdem]

58. I'm praying you're wrong, but the news is so bad, the images so horrifying, that I'm afraid you're

right. What an unbelievable tragedy in a country whose people have already suffered too much...

[depakid]

59. Sadly, we're expecting to see the worst on ABC and SBS tonight

Poor Haiti- one thing after another, decade after decade.

[ddeclue]

60. That's probably pretty accurate depending on the time of day.. Nighttime would have been the worst.

Mid day might find a larger number of people outdoors.

[Bobbie Jo]

61. Heartbreaking.

No words.

[highplainsdem]

63. Someone in Haiti talking to David Shuster on MSNBC predicted over 100,000 deaths, about half an hour

ago. I didn't catch his name, had been checking other channels earlier.

Latest AP report, which Shuster mentioned, is that Port-au-Prince "has largely been destroyed."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/6812594.html

[malaise]

74. Port -au-Prince has largely been destroyed

Yes we knew this before 9.00pm last night here in Jamaica.

[TK421]

106. that is devastating news....this is terrible, and I feel so helpless sitting here

thoughts and prayers to those in Haiti now

[Dappleganger]

64. My heart is broken over this!

When I was 16 my best friend and I spent the summer down there (she grew up there) and I fell in love with the people. Everyone who has been there is right, you have NO IDEA just how bad things are until you get off the plane and see it for yourself. Pictures just don't do it any justice because you cannot smell or hear what is going on.

The best meal in my life was in Les Cayes given to us by a local woman: roasted chicken and corn from her fire. It was all that she had and I was told to not refuse it or it would be a great insult. That trip really changed my life.

I know that there must be thousands who are gone or injured, and many children who have lost parents or parents who have lost children. My heart is broken into a thousand pieces for them and at this moment think once again, Haiti has the worst luck of any nation in the world. I hope to God that the US and other countries keep their promises to help them through this because they just don't have the resources to do it themselves. :(

[Hekate]

67. Heartbreaking. I'm glad you are okay, Malaise.

[malaise]

71. Jamaica was very lucky this time

Our day will come and we'd better prepare - two years ago experts warned that Haiti was an earthquake disaster waiting to happen - same as Katrina in NOLA.

You can't spread democracy - you have to spread building standards and ways to escape poverty.

[Hekate]

89. You are absolutely right about building codes and ways to escape poverty...

... being necessary.

Glad you're okay.

Hekate

[eleny]

68. I'm watching in disbelief

How much more do these poor people of Haiti have to suffer.

[tango-tee]

69. Words fail me.

These poor, poor people.

[DisasterMan827]

73. On the bright side...

At least there wasn't a tsunami. That would have been even worse.

I plan on donating $100 to worldconcern.org tomorrow to help the victims.

[tango-tee]

78. Mr. t-t and I will donate as well.

It may not be much, but can't stand by and do nothing at all.

[WeDidIt]

75. More than 3,000,000 people affected

Port Au Prince has been demolished.

Just reported on CNN

[DisasterMan827]

76. It's a terrible tragedy

I'm never good with words in sad times.

I hope our assistance will be enough for everyone that's suffering in Haiti.

[malaise]

79. State Department said to expect

a massive loss of life. We know.

[tekisui]

81. Haitian Prime Minister said he expects hundreds of thousands dead.

When asked if the government was still in control, he said, 'I hope so'.

per CNN.

[WeDidIt]

82. CNN now reporting some people estimating as many as 100,000 dead

but DUer malaise called it right here wihtin a few hours of the event.

Sad. We knew how bad it would be. Let's hope enough food, water, and antibiotics get to the island in the next 56 hours or so.

[bigtree]

83. oh, my

That crystallizes things. How horrible.

[polly7]

84. Yes, I think you are right.

Here's a little more from our news up here. It sounds absolutely devastating.
http://www.ctv.ca:80/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100113/haiti_earthquake_100113/20100113?hub=TopStoriesV2

[malaise]

91. Thanks for that link.

This is the worst disaster in the Caribbean in living memory.

[polly7]

103. You're welcome. Here's a little more from an interview with

Amy Goodman and a journalist and novelist in Haiti with some pretty interesting and sad info too, if it hasn't already been posted. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24388.htm

[malaise]

116. Thanks for that n/t

[Name removed]

85. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[blondeatlast]

86. Sadly, I think that number is realistic or even low. My heart and soul

are in Haiti right now; God I wish I could do more. :cry:

[malaise]

93. My estimate was the minimum number of deaths

I still hope I'm wrong but it's looking worse by the minute.

[inna]

88. OMG.

I heard "hundreds, and possibly thousands" on MSNBC this morning.

I hope your numbers are off. :( :cry:

[laughingliberal]

92. Just signed up to volunteer on the website coordinating nurses for the efforts there

Not sure how many they are going to need or how well the efforts to get volunteers in are going but I'm not exactly busy so thought I'd throw my license and experience out there and see. Would be very happy to find something where I could be of help.

[Fearless]

94. +1

[malaise]

97. That's wonderful

:grouphug:

[laughingliberal]

100. We'll see. I'm sure it's chaotic there, right now but being unemployed means I am also available

a little longer term to help out. I think their main issues right now might be getting the personnel in there. But I'm willing to go if needed. Might as well do something with my skills.

[Uncle Joe]

95. My heart goes out to the people of Haiti and I wouldn't be surprised if you're right.

Thanks for the thread, malaise:-(

[nadinbrzezinski]

98. I'm not sure if in the short term it will reach 100K

but 50K you bet.

Now over the course of two years... 100K is not that unfeasible.

I should explain this. Disasters have this tendency to disappear from public eye oh within a week, but any good health survey proves that things like this have higher death rates for two to five years.

[nvme]

99. give $upport if you can

[ClusterFreak]

101. Spread the word...I've tried too...some don't seem to get it...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7455321

[malaise]

102. GEM$NBC has caught on

at last

[ChiciB1]

104. A Little Late... But Just Donated what I Could! What A Travesty For These

people who have been oppressed since FOREVER! May the amounts we've given help these most unfortunate people!

Why does this happen to the most NEEDY so many times, over and over?? Things like this tested my faith so many times!! Not that I want to make this an issue, but it DOES MAKE ME WONDER! What have the poorest nations done to deserve more tragedy??

[No Passaran]

109. When I read the figures this afternoon I was shocked

100,000+ dead. It's unbelievable tragedy

[malaise]

110. Red Cross is saying 45-50,000 so far

but this could be between 150,000 - 200,000 based on reports about bodies found so far.

[tekisui]

111. The Red Cross numbers are the first estimates from

a reputable organization. What they gave us is the absolute base-line lowest. The number will grow much larger over the next week, as lists are organized of who is unaccounted for, more are dug out of rubble and the humanitarian crisis worsens. It is a sad start.

[Lil Missy]

112. I am SOOOO glad gw (cheney) is not in charge right now.

[malaise]

117. Cheney will remain in the basement

this time around :D

[CBR]

113. When I read your post the other night... I couldn't believe

the estimate but you were right :( :cry: :cry:

[malaise]

114. With a quake of this magnitude it's not hard to work out the figures

If we were hit in Kingston it would easily be the same number. A direct hit on an urban center with large numbers of poor people living in squalor is a total catastrophe. Once I knew the Presidential Palace and the well known hotel were down, the numbers were going to be frightening. Those are the buildings that used the international building codes.

[malaise]

119. They're now saying we may be looking at 200,000 dead

making this the biggest disaster in the Caribbean for sure and one of the ten deadliest earthquakes of all time. :cry: :cry:

sp