WASHINGTON/PORT-AU-PRINCE: Rescue teams, doctors and soldiers from around the world raced against the clock to reach Haiti with food, water andmedicines, as it became increasingly clear that the magnitude 7 earthquake which reduced the Caribbean country to rubble on Tuesday could be one of the worst disasters ever.
No one is putting a firm number on the casualties yet, and the toll in natural disasters is hard to pin down in the initial days, but the figure of 100,000 to 500,000 dead is being talked about.
The upper end of that frightening figure, a number normally associated with a nuclear attack, would make the Haiti earthquake the second largest in history after the temblor that killed 860,000 people in Shanxi, China, in 1556. The most destructive earthquake in modern times also occurred in China, when a quake in Tangshan in 1976 killed almost 270,000. The International Red Cross, in an initial estimate, said 40,000 to 50,000 people may have been killed in Haiti.
The challenge now is to save thousands of people, many still trapped in debris, and others threatened with hunger and chaos.
In this moment of tragedy, Haiti has only one thing to be grateful for — that it is next door to the US. Washington is pulling out all stops to help a nation, the poorest in the western hemisphere, which was already the focus of attention with former president Bill Clinton as its special envoy. On Thursday, his wife, secretary of state Hillary Clinton, cut short a tour of Asia to be on hand to help in what she described as a ‘‘Biblical tragedy’’. President Barack Obama named USAID’s newly sworn in administrator Rajiv Shah as the coordinator for relief while offering $100 million and every element of US power to help Haitians.
In an emotional address from the White House, Obama promised that amount was only a first instalment and that financial assistance would increase over the coming year. ‘‘You will not be forsaken, you will not be forgotten,’’ he told Haitians.
But money wasn’t really an issue, with more aid being drummed up than the unfortunate nation can handle at this moment. New Delhi gave $1 million, the UN announced $10 million aid and the World Bank a $100 million grant. A mere text message campaign raised millions of dollars within hours. Hollywood star couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, too, chipped in with $1 million.
The US is also sending 3,500 soldiers and 300 medical personnel to help with disaster relief and security, with the first batch scheduled to arrive on Thursday.
(Source: The Times Of India)
No one is putting a firm number on the casualties yet, and the toll in natural disasters is hard to pin down in the initial days, but the figure of 100,000 to 500,000 dead is being talked about.
The upper end of that frightening figure, a number normally associated with a nuclear attack, would make the Haiti earthquake the second largest in history after the temblor that killed 860,000 people in Shanxi, China, in 1556. The most destructive earthquake in modern times also occurred in China, when a quake in Tangshan in 1976 killed almost 270,000. The International Red Cross, in an initial estimate, said 40,000 to 50,000 people may have been killed in Haiti.
The challenge now is to save thousands of people, many still trapped in debris, and others threatened with hunger and chaos.
In this moment of tragedy, Haiti has only one thing to be grateful for — that it is next door to the US. Washington is pulling out all stops to help a nation, the poorest in the western hemisphere, which was already the focus of attention with former president Bill Clinton as its special envoy. On Thursday, his wife, secretary of state Hillary Clinton, cut short a tour of Asia to be on hand to help in what she described as a ‘‘Biblical tragedy’’. President Barack Obama named USAID’s newly sworn in administrator Rajiv Shah as the coordinator for relief while offering $100 million and every element of US power to help Haitians.
In an emotional address from the White House, Obama promised that amount was only a first instalment and that financial assistance would increase over the coming year. ‘‘You will not be forsaken, you will not be forgotten,’’ he told Haitians.
But money wasn’t really an issue, with more aid being drummed up than the unfortunate nation can handle at this moment. New Delhi gave $1 million, the UN announced $10 million aid and the World Bank a $100 million grant. A mere text message campaign raised millions of dollars within hours. Hollywood star couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, too, chipped in with $1 million.
The US is also sending 3,500 soldiers and 300 medical personnel to help with disaster relief and security, with the first batch scheduled to arrive on Thursday.
(Source: The Times Of India)
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