Latest on earthquake in Haiti - 20 January 2010

Here is the latest from Paul Conneally who has graduated from sleeping on the back of an abandoned flatbed truck to a mosquito dome. Paul is one of our Red Cross comms people out there. He was joined by Joe Lowry last night.
Below Paul's postings, is another update from our President.

conneally more than 500 tonnes of aid mobilized + scheduled 2 arrive in the coming days #redcross #haiti
about 1 hour ago from web

conneally Disaster response is a sprint but disaster recovery is a marathon says Bekele Geleta SG of International #RedCross in #Haiti 2day
about 1 hour ago from web

conneally people affected by this disaster will be full partners in #RedCross work 2 restore their homes, livelihoods + dignity ¦ http://bit.ly/5uaDzl
about 1 hour ago from web

conneally Haiti is what happens when an extreme natural event occurs in the lives of people already frighteningly vulnerable ¦ http://bit.ly/5uaDzl
about 1 hour ago from web

conneally news in from Channel 4 journo friends ¦ town 2hrs west of PAP in dire need ¦ hosp destroyed ¦ 1000+ confirmed dead ¦ thx Ch4 we're on it


conneally I should note that our basecamp has 150 #redcross international staff BUT we are more than 400 in #Haiti + 10'000 strong haitian redcross

conneally Response to #redcross appeal mind blowing ¦ it is really motivating for all of us here and we will make sure it makes a difference in #haiti
about 1 hour ago from web

conneally I have graduated from sleeping on back of an abandoned flatbed truck to a mosquito dome - Heaven! Also had a wash yday + hotmeal 2day :o)
about 1 hour ago from web

conneally Our basecamp now has 150 international #redcross specialists working with #haiti redcross staff + volunteers ¦ many more arriving evry day

conneally We have now landed 13planes ¦ today I saw turkish + iranian #redcrescent, mexico and german #redcross cargo offloaded ¦ 4 more planes 2morro
about 1 hour ago from web

conneally Fact: poss 2 park 4 cargo planes in 1 hr in #haiti airport ¦ #redcross urgent aid is getting thru, the rest we take by road via Domincan Rep
about 1 hour ago from web

conneally Lots of talk about US handling of airport ¦ let's get real ¦ US has increased #haiti airport capacity to 170% ¦ it's a massive contribution

conneally Basic Health Care (treating wounds, first aid etc.) also now in many areas in PAP ¦ Finnish, German + japanese #Redcross doing gr8 work
about 1 hour ago from web

conneally Relief distributions going well after a false start ¦ working with #Haiti #Redcross means we have really good contact with local population
about 1 hour ago from web

conneally #Redcross delivering fresh water now at half a million liters a day and rising ¦ that's 50'000 people a day getting good clean water #haiti
about 1 hour ago from web

conneally Also visited 1of many mobile clinics, this 1in an area called Croix Depres. 1000's of people camped out being treated rapidly by our medics
about 1 hour ago from web

conneally Y'day I went all over PAP ¦ devastation downtown is beyond the usual descriptors ¦ the sight is heartbreaking, the destruction unforgiving.
about 1 hour ago from web

conneally #Redcross field hospl @University hospital in overdrive carrying out 300 operations a day; backlog of wounded significantly down #haiti
about 2 hours ago from web


conneally #RedCross basecamp #Haiti now has wifi! So back online! An incredible few days since last updates. Lottsa stuff moving in rite direction.
about 2 hours ago from web

Red Cross Red Crescent intensifies relief and plans for early recovery in Haiti
19 January 2010
The leaders of the world’s largest humanitarian organization are on their way to earthquake-devastated Haiti as part of a massive disaster response and recovery operation.

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) President Tadateru Konoé and Secretary General Bekele Geleta arrived today in Port-au-Prince to lead what is shaping up as one of the IFRC’s largest and most complex operations in recent memory.

“We must confront a natural disaster that is not only one of the biggest of the past decade, but is affecting one of the very poorest countries in the world,” says Konoé.

“Poverty is at the root of this catastrophe, and countless lives could have been saved by investment in quake-resistant buildings and other disaster risk reduction measures,” emphasizes Geleta.

“What we are seeing in Haiti is what happens when an extreme natural event occurs in the lives of people who are already frighteningly vulnerable, and the terrible human cost of this tragedy is only now becoming clear.

“The international community and humanitarian organizations such as the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement must work together to tackle the survivors’ urgent needs and ensure that they can recover and move towards a safer future,” he adds.

President Konoé praised the Haitian National Red Cross Society for its brave and determined response in the immediate aftermath of Tuesday’s magnitude 7 earthquake, which is estimated to have affected as many as three million people.

“Haitian Red Cross volunteers were among the first to respond because they live within the affected communities,” he says.

“They too have suffered appalling losses. They are shocked and grieving. And yet their desire to help their fellow human beings takes priority. They are true humanitarian heroes and we are both proud of, and humbled by, their dedication.”

Konoé said that the Red Cross Red Crescent would use the experience it has gained from five years of post-tsunami recovery work to ensure that Haiti’s devastated communities not only receive the help they need now, but will continue to do so in the months and years to follow.

“The people affected by this disaster will be full partners in all Red Cross Red Crescent work to restore their homes, livelihoods and – most importantly – their dignity,” says the IFRC president.

“Disaster response is a sprint but disaster recovery is a marathon,” adds Geleta. “I will personally ensure that sustainable long-term recovery plans are at the heart of everything the IFRC and its partners do in Haiti.”

More than 400 Red Cross Red Crescent aid workers – including 180 from Caribbean and Central and South American National Red Cross Societies – have arrived in Port-au-Prince, with dozens more en route.

Sixteen emergency response units (ERUs) have also been deployed to Haiti with 11 having arrived as of 18 January. These include a 70 bed rapid deployment hospital that is now set up in the grounds of Port-au-Prince’s University hospital, two mobile basic health care units that can provide curative and preventative assistance to 30,000 people each, a Red Cross Red Crescent base camp, and two logistic units to facilitate the rapid arrival and deployment of aid.

So far, more than 500 tonnes of aid has been mobilized and scheduled to arrive in the coming days.

These efforts are part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement response, which also includes the ICRC. The ICRC has distributed medical materials for more than 2,000 patients to hospitals and to the Haiti Red Cross. More than 23,000 people have been registered on a special ICRC website that helps to reunite families without contact since the disaster struck. The ICRC has also contributed to Movement efforts to provide relief aid and clean water to thousands made homeless by the earthquake.

The IFRC is currently appealing for 105.7 million Swiss francs (103 million US dollars/73 million euro) to assist 300,000 people for three years. As more information becomes available, this appeal is expected to be revised">