UN Calls for International Support for Haiti Earthquake Victims

At 4:53 p.m. local time on January 12, 2010, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Hispaniola Island, just 15 kilometers (10 miles) southwest of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. Besides its strong magnitude, the earthquake’s shallow depth of roughly 8.3 kilometers (5.2 miles) ensured that the densely populated capital would suffer violent shaking. Schools, hospitals, government buildings, aid centers, and homes collapsed. Authorities reported that thousands were feared dead. Survivors scrambled to rescue trapped friends and family members without the benefits of electricity or phone service while more than 30 aftershocks rocked the area. This map shows the region surrounding the 7.0-magnitude earthquake and the aftershocks. Ocean areas appear in shades of blue, and land areas appear in shades of brown. Both in water and on land, higher elevation appears in lighter colors. Black circles mark earthquake locations determined by the USGS, and circle sizes correspond with quake magnitudes. Black lines indicate fault lines.The USGS reported that the earthquakes occurred along the boundary between the Caribbean and North America plates. This area is characterized as a strike-slip fault where the Caribbean plate moves eastward with respect to the North America plate. The January 12 earthquake was the worst to strike the region in decades, and possibly well over a century. Photograph and Text Courtesy NASA

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today, January 13, 2010, issued an urgent call to the international community to assist Haiti following yesterday’s catastrophic earthquake that has devastated the impoverished Caribbean nation’s capital.

Buildings and infrastructure in Port-au-Prince suffered extensive damage, while basic services, including water and electricity are near the brink of collapse. The full extent of casualties, which could number in the hundreds, is still unknown, Mr. Ban told reporters in New York.

“There is no doubt that we are facing a major humanitarian emergency and that a major relief effort will be required,” he said.

Expressing gratitude to nations rushing aid to the earthquake’s victims, he called for the world to “come to Haiti’s aid in this hour of need.”

The UN, he said, is also mobilizing an emergency response team to help coordinate humanitarian relief efforts and is expected to be on the ground shortly.

Many of UN personnel serving in the country – including Hédi Annabi, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative – are still accounted for, Mr. Ban said, with the UN Headquarters in the Christopher Hotel having collapsed in the tremors.

“Many people are still trapped inside,” the Secretary-General – who has been in close consultation with the Governments of Haiti, the United States and others – noted.

Troops, mostly from Brazil, serving with the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) have been working through the night to reach those trapped under the rubble, and several badly injured people have been rescued and transported to the mission’s logistics base which remains intact.

Alain Le Roy, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, told journalists today that fewer than 10 UN staff were pulled out of the collapsed Christopher Hotel, with some of them confirmed to have died.

Other UN offices have been damaged, and 10 people are missing from a compound housing people working for the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and others.

The Secretary-General announced today that he will dispatch Edmond Mulet, his former Special Representative to Haiti and current Assistant-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, to the country, and that the UN Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) is releasing $10 million immediately.

“The first priority is search and rescue,” with teams from the US, China, France, the Dominican Republic and other nations on their way to Haiti, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes told reporters today.

The UN, he said, will launch a flash appeal to kickstart what “will certainly be a major operation and a major relief effort.”

MINUSTAH was set up in 2004 and currently has more than 9,000 military and police personnel and nearly 2,000 civilian staff. Some 3,000 of the mission’s troops and police are in and around Port-au-Prince, and will help to maintain order and assist in relief efforts. They have also started to clear some of the capital’s main roads to allow aid and rescuers to reach those in need.

The Security Council observed a moment of silence this morning, and the Secretary-General is slated to brief the General Assembly later this afternoon on the situation on the ground in Haiti.

This news is from the UN News Centre