World mobilization after Haiti Earthquake

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Emergency information : if you need to contact Haiti,

advise is to use mobile phone.

For help, Haiti is a francophone nation, contact

Fondation de France Solidarite Haiti BP 22 75008 Paris

www.fondationdefrance.org

Haiti Major Earthquake, 2 millions without home. The most

violent seism in Haiti since a 100 years.

15 years after similar strength Japan Kobe earthquake

(6.000 deaths), the Earth tectonic plate strikes again and

targets urban terrorized population.

A powerful earthquake of 7.0 magnitude (USGS) on the

Richter Scale affected Haiti on 12 January, at 16.53hrs

local time (GMT 21.53hrs, Tokyo 07.53hrs January 13th).

The earthquake happened 17km south-west of Port-au-Prince,

the capital of Haiti. Tens of thousands of victims feared dead

by the United Nations Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

(OCHA).

http://www.un.org/en/humanitarian/

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the spot 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.

TV Report

Initial reports suggest a high number of casualties

and widespread damage, with an urgent need for Search

and Rescue. Aftershocks have been felt measuring 5.9

and 5.5 respectively. More aftershocks are expected

in the coming hours and days.

The capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, has been

severely affected including critical city

infrastructure components such as, electricity, water

and phone services. Electricity is not available and

communications are difficult.

There is still very limited access because of debris

and other obstacles on the roads. The airport of

Port-au-Prince is reported to be closed. According to

preliminary reports, several UN and well as other

national buildings have collapsed or have been

damaged. Populations may also be affected in

Carrefour and Jacmel.

Haiti , officially known as the Republic of Haiti or

in French, République d'Haïti, is a nation in the

Caribbean dominated by Creole and French speaking

people. The name means “ Mountainous Land” and

derives from the Taino word Ayti. The capital is

Port-au-Prince and it is the chief Francophone nation

in the Caribbean with French being one of its official

languages and Haitian Creole. The most educated and

professional use French to conduct business and

amongst their social circles but the entire population

can speak Haitian Creole. The majority of the

population follows Christianity with Catholicism being

the state religion.

Haiti is unique in many ways – firstly it resides in

the island of Hispaniola along with the Dominican

Republic. It was not only the first independent

nation in the Caribbean; it was also the first

post-colonial independent nation in the world that was

led by blacks and due to a successful slave rebellion,

it is the only nation that gained independence due to

this revolution. The country is rich with culture

with a mixture of French, African, Taino, Spanish,

European and Portuguese elements infused in the

history, painting, sculptures, cuisine and people.

Facts on Haiti: http://preview.tinyurl.com/2fmv4o

Plate tectonics

http://www.moorlandschool.co.uk/earth/tectonic.htm