Haitian 2021 Earthquake & Response

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
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@NALs: It's interesting what you say about the building codes because the presidential palace was totally trashed in the 2010 earthquake. I did look it up and the article on wiki says that the one the earthquake destroyed was completed in 1920. I'm sure the building codes weren't the same back then.
Yes. Not that it matters much because most buildings in Haiti are built without following those codes, but in the DR most buildings were built from the 1970's onward with a significant amount from the 1980's onward. A similar situation must be true in Haiti.

For example, speak with any Dominican that was alive in the 1950's, 60's, 70's or 80's and all will say that most houses were made of wood. That is simply not the case today and this change happen in the 80's/early 90's. The vast majority of Santo Domingo was built within the last 30 to 40 years. When the cable car was built in Puerto Plata in the 1970's, the town was basically limited to what is now the center with the rest (makes up over 80% of Puerto Plata city) was rural fields and forest with scattered rural dwellings for the most part. Santiago didn't expand much beyond the Historic Center until the 70's when development outside there picked up. Places like Gurabo, Pontezuela, etc were distant rural areas. Similar situations around the country. The DR as known today is a very recent creation.

Driving from Boca Chica to Santo Domingo now along the Las Américas Highway is built up, but that wasn't the case as recent as the 1980's and 1990's. The highway itself was the original cement highway built by Trujillo. The current appearance dates back to the 2000's when it was completely redone. In fact, the white elephant in the middle of the highway near the La Caleta toll was inaugurated by Hipólito Mejía and his presidence was from 2000 to 2004! That should give you an idea how recent the current form of the highway is. He also inagurated the stretch between Boca Chica and San Pedro which until then was a two lane road unlike the four lane highway it is now. The Mauricio Báez bridge wasn't completed until the 2010's. Reaching Punta Cana from Santo Domingo on a divided highway in its entirety is a very recent creation. Santo Domingo itself had extremely few highrises until this century when a skyline of sorts began to be defined.
 
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carlos

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It's about time that dr1 owners and moderators take down trash posts like this and delete the posters account.
Take some responsibility for your websites content, unless you want it to turn to trash.

By now there are 1300 people dead and surely many more to be counted.
Not to mention injured, lack of medical treatment and more devastation for Haiti.

dr1 has lost many valuable posters because of extreme positions allowed here.
I'm embarrassed for you guys.

And it's about time that you ( and a few others) understand that what you are advocating for is precisely what DR1 is not about. We were not built on group think. We are not going to delete a poster because you don't agree with what they wrote. We will protect and allow your opinions as much as the next person so long they don't violate the rules.

If you feel a post has violated the rules then report it and it will be looked into. After that you move on. Your post easily violates this as it is OFF Topic EVEN after a warning was issued to not veer off subject. I won't even go into it further at your attack at the MODS and the implication they can't do a good job.

The best way to fight an ignorant comment is by not allowing feelings to overcome facts and reality. Post about Haiti and what they are going through now. Post about deaths, relief efforts, how good people they are and how we can each do our part to help with the Haitians taking the lead in all this. Jumping on a bandwagon to complain about a comment and wanting that person removed does nothing here but promote a mob mentality which is the true embarrassment.

Finally, people do move on from DR1 but do so for various reason. If someone leaves because they don't like certain comments then that is their loss. However, DR1 will always offer an open door policy and welcome them back should they return.

Now that we have clarified this once again, it's time to get back on topic. No more reminders/warnings.
 

CristoRey

Welcome To Wonderland
Apr 1, 2014
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It's about time that dr1 owners and moderators take down trash posts like this and delete the posters account.
Take some responsibility for your websites content, unless you want it to turn to trash.

By now there are 1300 people dead and surely many more to be counted.
Not to mention injured, lack of medical treatment and more devastation for Haiti.

dr1 has lost many valuable posters because of extreme positions allowed here.
I'm embarrassed for you guys.
Valuable posters?
Knock it off.
When/ if the mods take issue
with a member's post they delete it,
warn the person who posted the comment and ban them when/ if believe it's to necessary.

You of all people have
zero ground to stand on when it comes
to finger pointing at others regarding (your perceived) "extreme positions" so maskup and have a nice day.
 

carlos

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 29, 2002
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Valuable posters?
Knock it off.
When/ if the mods take issue
with a member's post they delete it,
warn the person who posted the comment and ban them when/ if believe it's to necessary.

You of all people have
zero ground to stand on when it comes
to finger pointing at others regarding (your perceived) "extreme positions" so maskup and have a nice day.

you can't follow rules and stay on topic so enjoy your vacation from DR1.

who's next?
 
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NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
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Death toll surpasses 1,300. This could be the second deadliest earthquake on the island in centuries, surpassed with the amount of victims by the 2010 earthquake. The gap in casualty amounts between the two is due mostly to a lower population density on this one vs the one in 2010.

 
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DR Solar

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From reporting that I've seen, little search and rescue from anyone unless it is for searching, rescuing and stealing anything and everything that might have value.
 

mountainannie

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elizabetheames.blogspot.com
Here is the translation of this article from AyiboPost - which I just translated (translation will be up soon) https://ayibopost.com/les-autorites...umanitaire-cest-plus-facile-a-dire-qua-faire/




The Authorites


Want to direct


Humanitarian Aid


That is easier said than done



By Wildore Mérancourt

Several places are still inaccessible and the state is absent in many of the areas in need.

Two days after the strong earthquake on Saturday, several zones in the south remain cut off from the rest of the county and the Haitian state which wants to be the exclusive organizer of aid has no idea of the exact extent of the damage.

“No one has been to Fonds Cochone, a town in Roseau in the department of Grand’Anse” testified the mayor of the city of Jérémie, Claude Harry Milord, in a telephone interview this Monday.

So it is difficult to make an assessment of needs. “Areas of the second and third communal level are inaccessible due to lack of transport” continues Milord. “Things become complicated at Corail, Pestel, and Beaumont” says the town councilor. “They need to be rescued urgently. They have no water, no medicine, no food. They are sleeping under the stars.

Meanwhile, another catastrophe is brewing. “They have just announced a storm, but the people can not go to the temporary shelters as they are made of concrete.” Added Claude Harry Milord.

The toll from the cataclysm has risen to almost 1300 dead, according to a provisional count. And days after, several zones remain cut off from the world, inaccessible by car because of multiple rockslides. The State wants to direct the rescue efforts but it seems not to have the means to accomplish its goals

“We discourage those Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) who want to go by themselves on the ground.” said Prime Minister Ariel Henry, in an interview granted to AyiboPost in the diplomatic room in the Toussaint Louverture Airport, as he returned from his trip around the affected areas on Sunday afternoon.

“We wish to have a co-ordinated effort” continued the head of government. “Soon we will put in place entities composed of both public and private sectors to direct the aid for the reconstruction.”

The bulk of the interventions in the south are taking place by airplane or helicopter. A test convoy went to cross Martissant yesterday but donor institution remain cautious due to the danger of this route. »
“We are going to make a particular effort to clear Martissant, on the way out of Port-au-Prince,” promised Ariel Henry. “We have heard that the bandits want to make a truce but what we want is to make Maritssant passable so that people can cross the route in safety in a permanent manner.

The authorities want to avoid duplication and the wasting of hundreds of millions of dollars as happened after the earthquake of 2010 when the NGOs bypassed the local government to intervene directly.

According to information from Roberto Cavada, one plane and two aid helicopters coming from the Dominican Republic had to wait more than 4 hours yesterday before being able to land, because of long procedures. “The State is unable to manage the aid because it has no operating framework at this level”, analyzed the sociologist Wenchel Jean Baptiste.

If the aid has to pass through the State, it will take time to reach the population, not to mention the risks of it being diverted, “ added the director of Caramed, a hospital in Les Cayes. “The NGOs ought to intervene directly. That way will save time.”

The scene was meant to be ordinary. On her descent from the plane at the airport in Jérémie yesterday, August 15, the star, Sarodj Bertin, contemplated the surrounding greenery, the imperturbable passers-by, and the expanse of the sea that that so inspired the poets of the “city”.

This idyllic panorama would would be up ended by urgency. “As we got a little closer to the city, I started to see collapsed buildings.” Andat that hospital Saint-Antoine, the real post catastrophe. “I saw the wounded just pulled from the rubble.”.

Very quickly the quasi-absence of the State is felt in Jérémie. “There is a problem of co-ordination” remarked Carel Pedre. The radio host accompanied Bertin and recommended that she go to Jérémie while current efforts are concentrated much more in Les Cayes.

Contrary to the procedure recommended by the government, Pedre and Sarodj made contact with a local journalist who redirects them to the local hospital. When they arrive at the centre, they hand out well-received serum pouches and syringes, even if the staff requests gas and antibiotics.

“The State ought to co-ordinate the request so that one knows the needs on the ground”, Carle Pedre analysizes, “Co-ordinating aid is good, but it also requires transparency.”

The United States is contributing to the rescue efforts. Sixty Coast Guard employees and and a helicopter are involved in the back and forth flights between Port-au-Prince and the South to evacuate the wounded and transport medicine and medical material, in collaboration with the Haitian authorities.

At 5 in the afternoon on August 15, the aircraft had had three descents to Jérémie and Miragoane. Fifteen wounded patients in critical condition were transported to Port-au-Prince. Nine doctors were taken to Jérémie . And more than 1,000 pound of medical material had been delivered there.

“Two more helicopters should arrive in the country and by Monday, August 16th, they will be in Les Cayes where we are told there are 37 wounded patients in critical condition who need to be evacuated “ David Steele, a liaison officer for the US Coast Guard told AyiboPost.

Steele had worked in Puerto Rico after the devastating Hurricane Maria, and also in the Bahamas after Tropical Storm Matthew. “The extent of the wounds are more serious that those I have seen in previous interventions” he testified.

The calls for help are being raised from various parts of the South. Three members of the family of Lucienne Raphael, 66 and, were participating in a Baptism at the Immaculate Church “Les Anglais”. The building collapsed and they were all killed. Several cadavers are still under the debris

“Aftershocks are being felt from time to time so we are sleeping in the streets,” noted Raphael. “We have no shelter to avoid the storm that is coming. There is some noise that authorities are coming but we have so far received nothing.”

At Aquin, a town located between the south and Nippes, aid is slow in arriving as it is other small towns. “The largest part of the damages have been in the city of Rosemina built after the earthquake” reported Biltonn Bosse, a psychologist and teacher in the community. “The people in this underprivileged area find themselves in a dangerous situation. They are mourning many deaths.”

A humanitarian convoy passed Marissant yesterday to go to the South. “It did not stop at Aquin” Said Bossé sadly who explained that the mayor of the area seemed unable to do anything at all to help the people who were in distress after their houses had collapsed.

Tropical Storm Grace should not spare the country so beset with catastrophes, on the edge of the assassination of the president, Jovenel Moise a month ago. The forecasts predict its passage over several cities of the nation. While Prime Minister Henri fears the destructive potential of the cyclone, electoral preoccupations are still on his list of priorities.

“Elections are a must and we are headed there with or without an earthquake,” said Henry , who goes on to acknowledge “in a very clear manner “ that “ we do not have an electoral calendar.”

















Translated by Elizabeth Eames Roebling
 
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mountainannie

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here you will see a topographical map - "beyond mountains - there are mountains" https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Haiti_topographic_map-fr.svg

"dye mon, gen mon".

"solve one problem, there will be another"
Haitian proverb

I have a painting of Jérémie on my bedroom wall
It is the first thing I see when I awaken

Jérémie is/was known as the "City of Poets"

You may be surprised by what it looks like

 

AlterEgo

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Jan 9, 2009
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computer translated:

Dominican Republic sends 17,000 pounds of medicines to Haiti​

picture


SANTO DOMINGO.- The Dominican government sent 17,000 pounds of medicines and supplies to Haiti.

He also announced that the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defense and Administration of the Presidency coordinate the shipment of 10,000 food rations to the neighboring nation, affected this Saturday by a new earthquake of magnitude of 7.2 and that so far has left a balance of more than 1,209 dead and hundreds of wounded.

Among the drugs sent by the San Isidro airport are antivirals, painkillers, vitamins, mucolytics and acetaminophen, as well as masks and hand gel to protect the population from being infected by COVID-19.

Wheelchairs, anesthesia circuits, packages with suture supplies, cotton, needles, gowns and cannulas were also sent.

 

Lobo Tropical

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Aug 21, 2010
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Haiti earthquake has affected 1.2 million people, says UNICEF​

By Matt Rivers, Etant Dupain and Jack Guy, CNN

Updated 2:31 PM ET, Tue August 17, 202

(CNN)Around 1.2 million people, including 540,000 children, have been impacted by the 7.2-magnitude earthquake which struck southwestern Haiti on Saturday morning, according to UNICEF.
The quake left at least 1,419 people dead and more than 6,900 injured; that toll is expected to rise in the coming days, but search and rescue efforts are being hampered by a lack of resources and by heavy rains, which have caused mudslides that blocked roads in the region.

On Tuesday, donor countries and humanitarian organizations increased efforts to help the country. The Pentagon announced it had formed a joint task force to assist USAID in disaster relief efforts, while the United Nations allocated $8 million in aid to Haiti, according to a statement by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

 

DR Solar

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Nov 21, 2016
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Billions in aid over decades.
Not another penny, peso or coin of any source go to Haiti. Not single truck, tractor.
Not one medical team or help of any sort.
HAITIANS have sucked the world dry with the only results of a past present that tours the world exposing his ass.
 

AlterEgo

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Billions in aid over decades.
Not another penny, peso or coin of any source go to Haiti. Not single truck, tractor.
Not one medical team or help of any sort.
HAITIANS have sucked the world dry with the only results of a past present that tours the world exposing his ass.
Off topic. This thread is about earthquakes. Nothing else.
 

Big

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Apr 24, 2019
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From reporting that I've seen, little search and rescue from anyone unless it is for searching, rescuing and stealing anything and everything that might have value.
I was wondering about post earthquake looting. But is there really anything of value to loot . You could not even get a club sandwich before the quake.
 
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Se fue la luz

Instant Karma's gonna get ya!
Aug 7, 2021
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This is the time for compassion, not blame. Blaming does no good when it's an act of God like this. Put yourself in their shoes. What would you do to feed your family on < $5/day? I don't like the deforestation there any more than anyone else, but I understand it and sympathize. Besides, deforestation can't effect plate tectonics.

If I was younger, I would be going there tomorrow to help. As it is, the only thing I can do is send $ to reputable folks that are recommended to me.
This brings up an interesting point. Who are "reputable folks" and how would we know?

Perhaps better asked is if one were interested in making a donation who or what organization is then best, safest, most likely to not just waste or steal the money and actually do something needed. Best bang for the buck.

What I don't want to do is send money to some org that has a history of only passing along a small percentage into the field after skimming the cream off of all the donations for salaries, etc...