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15 Jan 2010 08:17

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World: The current status of Haiti: Help needed, but tough to send

  • 50,000 are said to have died in the quake
  • Help is on its way President Barack Obama and many other world leaders have promised help to the devastated country, whose largest city was leveled by the 7.0 earthquake on Tuesday evening. But huge bottlenecks are preventing help from reaching those in need.
  • major bottlenecks Among other things, the U.S. has placed its own air traffic controllers in the Port-Au-Prince airport to help ease the burdens. But a lack of fuel is creating a clog of planes that have no way to get off the tarmac. It’s having a deadly effect on survivors.
  • “Angry and impatient” Haitians in desperate need of food and water are stuck in an awful purgatory as a result. “We hear on the radio that rescue teams are coming from the outside, but nothing is coming,” said survivor Jean-Baptiste Lafontin Wilfried. source

15 Jan 2010 08:01

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World: The Red Cross mobilizing donations for Haiti better than ever

  • $35
    million
    has been donated to the Red Cross since the earthquake struck Tuesday; that’s better than Katrina and the 2004 tsunami
  • $5
    million
    in donations have come from text messages from mobile phones – which is easily a record and a genius way to donate source

14 Jan 2010 09:58

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World: Putting photos to places: The Haiti Quake, explained in map form

The destruction in Haiti is nothing short of massive. The New York Times put up a map this morning to explain the context of the tragedy. source

13 Jan 2010 23:33

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World: Awesome people text the Red Cross to help Haiti, hit milestone

  • $1+ million in donations from texts alone (whoa!) source

13 Jan 2010 11:59

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13 Jan 2010 11:03

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World: More photos of Haiti’s destruction: Not even palaces safe

This used to be the the Haitian National Palace. Now it’s a pile of rubble. Here are some more photos of the destruction. (Hat tip @kelllygreen) source

13 Jan 2010 10:55

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World: Haiti’s biggest city, Port-au-Prince, ballooned in size quickly

  • 250,000 Port-au-Prince’s population in the 1950s, according to U.S. ambassador Timothy M. Carney
  • 2 million the city’s population today; it grew in size very quickly with little oversight or planning source
 

13 Jan 2010 10:48

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World: Worse than anyone expected: Port-Au-Prince’s hospitals abandoned

  • Doctors Without borders says ALL hospitals in Haiti’s Port au Prince area have either collapsed or been abandoned.
  • NBC anchor Ann Curry • On the devastated infrastructure of Haiti’s capital and largest city. Haitian authorities say that the quake has destroyed most of the city. Obama has offered significant help to the country, and there will be ways to get that help to Haitians – the airport appears to still be operable. But it appears that the city, ill-prepared for such a quake, is a complete disaster area. source

13 Jan 2010 10:37

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Culture, World: Yele: Wyclef Jean’s emotional plea for the people of Haiti

  • As we mentioned last night, Wyclef Jean, the most well-known celebrity from Haiti, has been active in trying to help his homeland even before the earthquake, starting the Yéle Haiti Foundation in 2005. He actually was talking on the phone with someone as the quake happened. He’s calling for Haitians all around the world to put pressure on the government. Text YELE at 501501 to send $5 to Haitian relief. source

13 Jan 2010 10:22

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U.S., World: Haitian-Americans want to talk to their family members, but can’t

  • Everyone who walks in here is crazy, worried, depressed. They want to talk to their family members but they can’t get through.
  • Miami’s Little Haiti resident Myrlande Cherenfant • On the people that walk into her family’s market, unsure of the fate of many of their families. Cherefant can’t reach her own family members due to the destruction of communication lines in the area. “It’s a dead line,” she said. “There’s nothing.” source