Haiti.

My deepest condolence and my sympathy to all those perished during the earthquake. The 7.0 on the Ritcher scale on 12 January 2010 at 1653 hrs could even bring down a beautiful Presidential Palace. The worst affected is the capital Porte-au-Prince with two (2) million inhabitants. Being the poorest country in the Western hemisphere the disaster makes it even catastrophic. They lack the heavy machineries and the contingency team to offer immediate assistance during this type of major emergency.

Last year Haiti was struck with four hurricanes and now an earthquake. Within minute it took about several thousands of life. I cannot imagine I am in Haiti and thank Allah (God) we are away from the ring of fire. Allah (God) bless Malaysia. We may have flood once in a while but life loss normally due to mere carelessness.

What made foreign aid difficult to come by to Porte-au-Price is due to the Airport and its Port. Hundreds of plane coming in to Haiti bringing aid and personnel but due to lack of parking space and fuel in storage the plane had to be diverted. The Airport has only one runaway and the road around the Airport is damage and aid cannot get to the stricken needy. The container crane at the Port is submerging in water and the roads around the Port are also crumbled and inaccessible.

Malaysia should learn a lesson from what is happening in Haiti. We should have our heavy machineries and trained personnel ever ready at any time to address a major disaster. Our Engineering Army personnel should be mobilizing at the first instance to repair damage roads and construct bridges.

At Porte-au-Prince someone must be in charge to coordinate the relief assistance. The United Nations or the American who has the experience on handling major disaster should be given a free hand to handle the situation. Politic and formalities should be put aside for the time being as human life is at stake. With everybody from various countries coming in to Haiti to offer assistance but without coordination it would be chaotic. Doctors, Nurses, medical equipment and medicines should come to the people soonest otherwise more life would be lost due to non attendance. There are hundreds with broken bones and broken hearts.

In a major disaster like this, unity is important. Priority should be given to save life and not for self interest. Breed, color and religion should be put aside to offer assistance for the sake of mankind.

Malaysia and Haiti is far distance away, half the globe away. We still can offer assistance in term of funds or in kinds. Those who are filthy rich, I hope they can spare some thoughts the suffering of the Porte-au-Prince inhabitants. For we will never know, today is them and tomorrow may be ours. It can happen within minute and our life change forever.

To those who are affected directly or indirectly by the earthquake in Haiti, I hope they can be patience and I wish them all the best for their well beings.

To the foreign personnel who are in Haiti right now to offer assistance of all kinds, I congratulate you for sparing your time for the sake of mankind.


Some facts about Haiti taken from Dr Halimah blog.

Haiti Earthquake.

• USGS: USGS called it the strongest earthquake since 1770 in what is now Haiti.
• The quake struck on January 12, 2010 at 4:53 p.m.
• The 7.0 magnitude quake's epicenter hit just 10 miles west of Porte-au-Prince and its 2 million inhabitants.
• 3 million people in need of emergency aid after major earthquake.
• The major quake sent 33 aftershocks ranging in magnitude from 4.2 to 5.9.
• The Red Cross dispatched a relief team from Geneva and the UN's World Food Program is flying in two planes with emergency food aid.
• The Inter-American Development Bank said it was immediately approving a $200,000 grant for emergency aid.
• Some 9,000 peacekeepers have been in Haiti since 2004, including 1,266 Brazilians.
• Haiti has no real construction standards.
• November 2008: Following the collapse of a school in Petionville, the mayor of Port-au-Prince estimated about 60% of buildings were shoddily built and unsafe in normal circumstances.

History of Haiti.

• Discovered by Columbus in 1492.
• Haiti won its independence from France on January 1, 1804.
• Population of nearly 10 million people.
• Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
• 80% of the population in Haiti is living under the poverty line.
• Most Haitians live on less than $2 a day.
• More than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs.
• Haiti is slightly smaller than Maryland.
• The Haiti telecommunications infrastructure is among the least developed in Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Haiti has 14 airports; 4 have paved runways.
• Haiti’s capital is Porte-au-Prince, a coastal city with about 2 million inhabitants.
• After decades of dictatorship, former Roman Catholic priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide became Haiti's first freely elected leader in 1990.
• Aristide was ousted by a military coup in 1991 but reinstated with U.S. backing.
• Aristide was forced out of the country and into exile in 2004 by a rebellion of gangs and former soldiers.
• Democratic rule was restored in 2006.
• Haiti has been led by President Rene Preval since May 2006 when the country returned to constitutional rule.
• Haiti is one of the original members of the United Nations and several of its specialized and related agencies, as well as a member of the Organization of American States (OAS).
• GDP (purchasing power parity): $11.53 billion (2008 est.).
• GDP (official exchange rate): $6.943 billion (2008 est.).
• GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,300 (2008 est.).
GDP - composition by sector: Agriculture: 28%, Industry: 20%, Services: 52% (2004 est.)
• Labor force: 3.643 million.
• Labor force - by occupation: Agriculture: 66%.
• Population below poverty line: 80% and 54% in abject poverty.
• Haiti now ranks 146th of 177 countries in the UN's Human Development Index.
• Haiti has no regular military forces. The Army, Navy, and Air Force have been demobilized.
• Haiti has a small Coast Guard.
• The Haitian National Police has nearly 10,000 officers.
• Countries that contributed police personnel include: Argentina, Bangladesh, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Columbia, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Egypt, El Salvador, France, Guinea, India, Jamaica, Jordan, Madagascar, Mali, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Senegal, Serbia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Togo, Turkey, United States, Uruguay and Yemen.

Other Haitian Natural Disasters.

• August and September 2008: Four separate hurricanes or tropical storms - Tropical Storm Fay and hurricanes Gustav, Hanna and Ike - in the space of 30 days killing a total of 793 people and leaving more than 300 others missing, according to government figures. About 60 per cent of the country's harvest was destroyed and entire cities were rendered desolate and uninhabitable.
• September 2004: Hurricane Jeanne deluged the tiny Caribbean country. Resulting flooding and landslides killed up to 2,500 people and displacing thousands more.
• September 1998: Hurricane George killed more than 400 people while destroying 80 per cent of all the crops in the country.
• 1994: Hurricane Gordon killed over 1000 Haitians.
• 1963: Hurricane Flora killed over 8000 people, making it the 6th most deadly hurricane ever.
• 1954: Hurricane Hazel killed more than 100 people and destroyed several towns. The storm also wiped out 40 per cent of the coffee trees and 50 per cent of the cacao crop.
• November 1946: The largest recorded earthquake in modern times on the island of Hispaniola was an 8.1-magnitude temblor that produced a tsunami and killed 1,790 people. Centered in the Dominican Republic, it extended into Haiti.
• 1935: An unnamed storm killed more than 2000 people.