Worst Earthquake in over a century hits Haiti
People carry an injured person in Port-au-Prince after the largest earthquake ever recorded in the area rocked Haiti on Tuesday. (Radio Tele Ginen/ Associated Press)
Wednesday January 13, 2010 – Port-au-Prince, Haiti: A magnitude 7.0 quake with more then 20 aftershocks to date struck shortly before 5 p.m. the U.S. Geological Survey reported. It could be felt strongly in eastern Cuba, more than 200 miles away. The capitol has been largely destroyed.
CMAT continues to monitor the progress and is assessing the need to deploy an assessment team to the impoverished nation. In the highly populated Caribbean nation, (Population: 10 million+) the vast majority live in extreme poverty and in shantytowns. The earthquake, centered 15 km from the capitol of Port-au-Prince, leaving thousands of fatalities, and countless homeless and injured. The former French colony which has seen more then its share of disaster, Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere.
Map courtesy of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: www.reliefweb.int
CMAT’s Disaster Assessment Team response has been activated, and remains on standby pending further developments. Skilled and experienced CMAT volunteers who have previously responded to disasters in Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and China are ready to be sent depending on need, including search and rescue and critical care paramedics, Emergency/Trauma physicians and surgeons, and experienced Emergency Nurses and Nurse Practitioners. CMAT has the capability to deploy a fully equipped, inflatable field hospital anywhere in the world within 24 to 48 hours.
