Many New Yorkers have been left reeling from this morning's earthquake in Haiti. Some sources estimate there are 122,000 Haitian's living in New York City alone. New Yorkers have been attempting to contact relatives in Haiti, but reports say telephone coverage has all but been wiped out due to destroyed phone towers.
The earthquake, measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale, hit about 10 miles southwest of the capital Port au Prince at 5pm on Tuesday. It was followed by a series of strong 4.5 aftershocks. The quake was the worst to hit the region in 200 years with initial reports suggest thousands have died with no upper limit on the potential loss of life.
Trusted and reliable organisations that spring into action are being challenged in the face of this disaster. The UN's office in Haiti was destroyed in the earthquake, with up to 140 staff missing and others confirmed dead. Among the confirmed dead are chief of the UN mission, Hédi Annabi.
This video was aired by CBS news this evening and shows the aftermath through amateur video
Doctors Without Borders have said their and other medical facilities are badly damaged and non functioning. Make shift clinics have been set up to cope with the surging demand for medical care. MSF's Stefano Zannini, on the ground in Haiti, said 'I visited five medical centers, including a major hospital, and most of them were not functioning. Many are damaged and I saw a distressing number of dead bodies. Some parts of the city are without electricity and people have gathered outside, lighting fires in the street and trying to help and comfort each other'.
Meanwhile Denis O'Brien owned Digicel, which provides mobile telephone services in the Carribean island, has pledged $5 million towards NGO's involved in rescue and relief efforts.
(map from New York Times)
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