Port-a-prince destroyed

Some of the pictures are amazing in the amount of damage that occurred. Haiti has a tough time in the best of times. This is a real disaster. Haiti is one of those very poor nations that cannot even feed itself. It creates less than half the food it needs for its people. It depends upon imports and now that basically the business center is destroyed there is going to be even less money to be able to purchase food. This earth quake is just round one of what is going to be a series of disasters.
 
smigaldi said:
Some of the pictures are amazing in the amount of damage that occurred. Haiti has a tough time in the best of times. This is a real disaster. Haiti is one of those very poor nations that cannot even feed itself. It creates less than half the food it needs for its people. It depends upon imports and now that basically the business center is destroyed there is going to be even less money to be able to purchase food.
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Hopefully the influx of aid and rebuilding will be a benefit to the people in the long run.

This earth quake is just round one of what is going to be a series of disasters.
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Not worried about 2012 are you?
 
Re: Port-au-prince destroyed

RMCN172RG said:
Hopefully the influx of aid and rebuilding will be a benefit to the people in the long run.
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I hope so too, but won't hold my breath...Haiti is one screwed up piece of land, and I'd say mostly self-inflicted...

How often do you hear about the eastern half of Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic) other than during Spring Training?
 
Re: Port-au-prince destroyed

JeffDG said:
I hope so too, but won't hold my breath...Haiti is one screwed up piece of land, and I'd say mostly self-inflicted...

How often do you hear about the eastern half of Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic) other than during Spring Training?
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The DR's no picnic, either....
 
RMCN172RG said:
Not worried about 2012 are you?
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Not at all. I was just commenting that Haiti has had their first disaster, the earthquake, now will come more. Disease, famine, etc.


Besides, have you not heard the latest? The world ends in April of 2011. Some guy did some numerical analysis and came up with that date. He was wrong before and will be wrong again.
 
smigaldi said:
Not at all. I was just commenting that Haiti has had their first disaster, the earthquake, now will come more. Disease, famine, etc.
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OK, I took it you were looking for more disasters elsewhere not a cascade effect in Haiti.

We all know the Old World ended in the late ninties and we're now in a 1000 year period of Peace. Or so the Nostradamus guru's predicted in the eighties. :sleep:
 
Dumb news comment this morning about the disaster:

"There are reports that the control tower at the airport is down. Airplanes cannot land until a new tower is built"

SIGH!
 
smigaldi said:
Dumb news comment this morning about the disaster:

"There are reports that the control tower at the airport is down. Airplanes cannot land until a new tower is built"

SIGH!
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Hey, this is a new finding that will mean the end of crashes!

Just shut down all control towers and airplanes can't land, therefore they can't crash. Problem solved!
 
Local TV news carried a story about a group of eye docs who were/are volunteering their services. No word about them yet.
 
My church was sending a team down there to go to a school we partner with. They were supposed to fly out today and would have stayed at the Montana tonight. timing is everything.
 
In case anyone is interested.
The President has been receiving updates on the urgent situation in Haiti late into last night and this morning, and top members of his team have been convening to formulate the government response.
You can also help immediately by donating to the Red Cross to assist the relief effort. Contribute online here, or donate $10 to be charged to your cell phone bill by texting "HAITI" to "90999."
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http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/01/13/help-haiti
 
I once saw folks pouring concrete for a building in Port-Au-Prince. No rebar in the form at all, and this was for a part of the building that could be expected to encounter tension and shear stresses.
 
TMetzinger said:
I once saw folks pouring concrete for a building in Port-Au-Prince. No rebar in the form at all, and this was for a part of the building that could be expected to encounter tension and shear stresses.
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There are still masonry only building in San Fransisco and those were built after the 1906 earthquake. People will always take the cheap way out because they honestly think that bad things will not happen to them. I lived in Florida and I can tell you there are lots of people who thought that a hurricane would never get them.
 
I wish I could remember the number of times--and the number of years--the Destin folks explained in great detail all of the meteorology and topography surrounding the reasons why the hurricanes didn't get them. Until one did.

smigaldi said:
There are still masonry only building in San Fransisco and those were built after the 1906 earthquake. People will always take the cheap way out because they honestly think that bad things will not happen to them. I lived in Florida and I can tell you there are lots of people who thought that a hurricane would never get them.
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Most of the locally constructed buildings up and down the Caribbean are of poor quality concrete block. Port au Prince was a disaster waiting to happen as are most of the cities in that part of the 3rd world. 2/3 of the population fled the island of Montserrat after the volcano eruption there and the same may happen in Port au Prince.
 
We flew a friend's old B-90 to the boat race in Antigua (next island north) just after the eruption, and circled the volcano at what we considered a safe distance. It was still belching ominous green smoke, signs of life were scarce.

RickH said:
Most of the locally constructed buildings up and down the Caribbean are of poor quality concrete block. Port au Prince was a disaster waiting to happen as are most of the cities in that part of the 3rd world. 2/3 of the population fled the island of Montserrat after the volcano eruption there and the same may happen in Port au Prince.
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If you folks are interested in making a real difference in Haiti...check these folks out...http://www.imohaiti.org/ They are the "real deal"...all wool and a full yard wide as my Grandmother Essie would say

John and Joyce Hanson have been in Haiti for around three decades and have fed and schooled thousands of Haitian kids. Our Church has been supporter of this Ministry for about 15 years...

Here are pictures taken by John Hansen this after noon near one of the IMO compounds in Haiti. I am not sure of the location as IMO has quite a few compounds around the country.

I know some of you gentlemen are turned off by Christianity but let me say these folks walk the walk.


More pic to follow...
 

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TangoWhiskey said:
They pulled somebody alive from the rubble today... 11 days later.
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In the small world category I am still waiting to hear from a friend that his sister and cousin are ok. They have been missing since the earthquake. I watch these rescues getting to be fewer and fewer and I fear for the worst.
 
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Wow, I thought finding someone alive after 11 days was amazing.

They just found another rubble-buried man alive--14 days after the initial quake:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60O29A20100127

And this is, in my opinion, EXACTLY how they need to help the Hatians help themselves--give work, wages, and food to those who are able to work:

In a bid to get the economy going, the United Nations is offering 150 gourdes ($3.77) a day plus food rations to those willing to take jobs clearing rubble from roads and removing waste that posed a potential health threat.

More than 5,500 Haitians had already started the two-week jobs, using shovels, hammers, wheelbarrows and trucks to load debris and haul it to landfills.
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smigaldi said:
In the small world category I am still waiting to hear from a friend that his sister and cousin are ok. They have been missing since the earthquake. I watch these rescues getting to be fewer and fewer and I fear for the worst.
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Just found out this morning, my friend's sister has been found and is well. YEAH!
 
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