The earthquake in Haiti on 12th January 2010 has claimed the lives of up to 200,000 people and left hundreds of thousands more living on the streets of Port-au-Prince. With up to 3 million affected by the 7.0-magnitude quake, the country is understandably struggling to cope. Aftershocks are a very real danger: one of magnitude 4.5 severely hampered resue efforts for a time in parts of the city. Help is now needed in providing enough clean drinking water for the survivors to prevent dehydration and outbreak of waterborne diseases. Survivors are camping under plastic sheets without proper food, drinking water or medical supplies. Water is available for sale on the streets at inflated prices and aid agencies are deperately trying to fill the gap between demand and supply. Desalination equipment is en route from the US by sea to provide 25,000 litres of water a day to supplement the 35,000 litres per day being produced by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, that is already there. International aid is also arriving by air, although the airport at Port-au-Prince is overwhelmed with relief flights trying to land. Some bottled water has been shipped but water purification systems will provide the most efficient and cost-effective long-term solution. Distributing this water to the population is proving difficult as the devastation has cut transport communications and bottlenecks have been reported. Camps are to be set up for shelter, water and latrines and will be a focus for distribution of supplies to survivors and aid-workers alike.
The British public has already donated more than £23 million to the DEC, the Disasters Emergency Committee, an umbrella organisation for 13 humanitarian aid agencies. You can donate by going to their website at www.dec.org.uk and giving what you can afford.
Water is life. Help save a life today
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