Haiti earthquake vs Hurricane Katrina
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/13/haiti.earthquake/index.html
The International Federation of the Red Cross estimated that 3 million people were affected by the earthquake.
"This is obviously a tremendous tragedy that happened just before sundown last night," Rajiv Shah, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, told CNN on Wednesday.
"Our teams have been working in a coordinated and aggressive way all night to make sure the U.S. mounts an effective response in supporting saving lives, which is the president's absolute top priority for this first period of 72 hours when we search and save as many lives as we can."
The United States and global humanitarian agencies said they would begin administering aid on Wednesday amid fears that impoverished Haiti, already gripped by human misery, was facing nothing short of a catastrophe.
However, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the U.S. Embassy reported that the airport was in good enough shape for the United States to start sending teams and assistance Wednesday.
"We have some assets ready to go," Crowley said.
The U.N. World Food Programme also planned to send a plane with 87 metric tons of high-energy biscuits, said spokeswoman Bettina Luescher in New York. That's enough to feed 30,000 people for a week.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/13/haiti.aid.response/index.html
Humanitarian charity Oxfam said it was rushing rescue teams to the country from around the region to provide clean water, sanitation, shelter and emergency supplies and called for donations to fund its efforts.
Singer Wyclef Jean, nephew of ambassador Joseph and founder of the Yele Haiti relief charity, said that aid needed to be deployed by the internationall community straight away.
"We're going to need the United States and the international community to react immediately," Jean told CNN.
And Clinton's husband, former U.S. President Bill Clinton -- now the U.N. special envoy for Haiti -- said the world body was "committed to do whatever we can to assist the people of Haiti in their relief, rebuilding and recovery efforts."
Wow, they were preparing aid for shipping all night, meaning they started preparing mere minutes after the quake & have been working all night. And what's more, the U.S. is already committing itself to REBUILDING efforts!
A mere 12 hours after the quake & the U.S. has prepared food, water, & medical supplies with intent to distribute TODAY.
~ OOOOPS!!! Those pics weren't from Haiti! ~
Damn, it really is a shame that New Orleans wasn't a 3rd world country. Maybe then those trapped there, dying from dehydration & lack of medical supplies, wouldn't have had to wait FIVE DAYS for assistance. Oh wait, that's right, it was difficult to get in there because there was water around the city with patches of high ground where people were gathered. Completely unlike Haiti, which is surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico & the Atlantic Ocean.
>:-(