USAID Haiti Earthquake Fact Sheet 2

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

• The 13 USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (USAID/DART) members in Haiti continue to assess priority humanitarian needs and identify emergency relief supplies for immediate delivery to Port-au-Prince from the USAID/OFDA warehouse in Miami.  The USAID/DART also continues to liaise with U.N. representatives regarding humanitarian coordination, and the USAID/DART team leader continues to coordinate with international donors until the full U.N. Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team arrives in Port-au-Prince.
• As of 2330 hours local time, U.S. urban search and rescue (USAR) personnel had rescued or assisted in rescuing nine individuals trapped under rubble.  As of January 14, more than 300 USAR personnel had arrived in country, including a 72-person team from the Fairfax County Fire Department, a 72-person team from Los Angeles County Fire Department, an 80-person team from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, and an 80-person team from Miami City.  An additional 42-person team from Fairfax County is expected to arrive in Haiti early on January 15.
• As of the morning of January 14, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was coordinating the deployment of six additional U.S. USAR teams.
• With $13 million in USAID/OFDA assistance, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) plans to deploy a 35-person Incident Response Coordination Team (IRCT), five 35-member Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs), and a Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT) of experts in victim identification and mortuary services.  The HHS response includes the provision of four medical equipment caches.

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CURRENT SITUATION

Background

• Preliminary assessments from the IFRC indicate the earthquake affected a total of approximately 3.5 million individuals.
• Humanitarian organizations expect a considerable number of affected individuals to require emergency shelter assistance and other relief items.  Access to affected populations remains limited at present due to extensive debris and damaged roadways.
• Priority assistance, according to the GoH, includes search and rescue capability, offshore vessel medical units, electricity generation capability, and communications equipment to facilitate GoH coordination and response efforts.  The GoH has also requested assistance in evacuating patients from a damaged hospital in Petionville to hospitals in Miami, Florida.
• According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), nine of 13 UNDAC team members have arrived in Haiti, and one additional UNDAC team member will be deployed to Santo Domingo to coordinate relief efforts transiting through the Dominican Republic.  The U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator and most U.N. agencies have established a logistics base near the airport to coordinate incoming search and rescue teams.  

Search and Rescue Operations

• Priority locations for USAR operations on January 14 include the Montana Hotel, the Caribbean Market, Citibank building, and a high school building.
• To date, U.S. USAR personnel have conducted multiple operations in Port-au-Prince, including at least five search and rescue missions and at least eight reconnaissance missions along Route de Delmas and Pan-American Avenue.  
• At approximately 0720 hours local time, a Fairfax County USAR team successfully completed one live extraction from the U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
• USAR personnel have identified multiple trapped individuals at College Marianne in Bourdon neighborhood.  USAR teams deployed to the school and immediately began rescue operations.
• Joint USAID/DART–USAR teams continue to conduct assessments of heavily damaged areas in downtown Port-au-Prince and Carrefour areas to determine future search and rescue priorities.

Emergency Food Assistance

• USAID/FFP is providing approximately 14,500 metric tons (MT) of P.L. 480 Title II emergency food assistance valued at approximately $18 million intended to feed an estimated 2 million disaster-affected individuals during the next six months.  In order to expedite delivery, the food aid will come from Title II prepositioned stocks in Jacinto, Texas.  The contribution will include 7,000 MT of rice, 4,550 MT of corn soy blend, and 3,000 MT of vegetable oil.  Food aid will be transported in multiple shipments, with the first shipment expected to arrive on January 28th.  The U.N. World Food Program (WFP) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) plan to distribute emergency food aid.  
• On January 13th, WFP distributed high energy biscuits (HEBs) to 3,000 beneficiaries in Jacmel.  On January 14, WFP expects to reach 2,400 beneficiaries in Port-au-Prince with HEBs.
• USAID/FFP has contacted all active Title II implementing partners in Haiti to determine the availability of commodity stocks in-country and the capacity of organizations to reach earthquake-affected individuals.
• The U.N. recently reported that previous reports indicating that WFP warehouses had been looted were erroneous.

Emergency Relief Supplies

• The U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported plans to transport emergency relief supplies valued at $500,000 from Panama to Haiti.  The first flight via an IFRC aircraft is scheduled to depart for Haiti during the evening of January 14, carrying 10,000 tarpaulins, 4,600 water containers, 5.5 million water purification tablets, 556,000 oral rehydration sachets, 21 GPS receivers, 2 portable warehouses, tents, trauma kits, and water tanks to benefit 10,000 affected families.  A boat with a UNICEF relief supply shipment from Panama sufficient for 20,000 families is also due to arrive in Haiti during the evening of January 14.

Logistics and Transportation

• A January 13 U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) preliminary port assessment indicated blockage due to significant debris and a collapsed crane, as well as considerable damage to port piers.  A January 14 USCG assessment of the Gonaives port, located approximately 69 miles north-northwest of Port-au-Prince, indicates that the port is currently functional.  The Gonaives pier allows a 21- to 30-foot draft and has a 180-ton functional crane.  Under normal driving conditions the port is approximately three hours travel by land to Port-au-Prince.  The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) expects to release the results of a formal January 14 assessment of the port facility at Port-au-Prince in the coming hours.  
• USAID/OFDA is coordinating with DoD to establish an air bridge for daily transportation of emergency relief supplies on C-130 aircraft.  

U.S. GOVERNMENT (USG) HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

• On January 12, USAID/OFDA stood up a Washington D.C.-based Response Management Team (RMT) to support the USAID/DART that deployed to Haiti early on January 13 to assess humanitarian conditions and coordinate activities with the humanitarian community.
• To date, USAID has provided nearly $55 million in humanitarian assistance for the Haiti earthquake.
• USAID/OFDA continues to communicate with partners on the ground to assess and prioritize humanitarian needs, including for emergency relief supplies, shelter and food assistance, and health and water, sanitation, and hygiene services.  The humanitarian community is currently focusing on life-saving search and rescue operations.
• On January 13, U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Kenneth H. Merten declared a disaster due to the effects of the earthquake.  In response, USAID/OFDA provided an initial $50,000 through the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince for the implementation of an emergency response program.  USAID/OFDA is providing additional assistance in accordance with the findings of USAID/DART and humanitarian community assessments, as access to affected groups expands over the coming days.  

USAID HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO HAITI FOR THE EARTHQUAKE

PUBLIC DONATION INFORMATION

• The most effective way people can assist relief efforts is by making cash contributions to humanitarian organizations that are conducting relief operations.  Information on organizations responding to the humanitarian situation in Haiti may be available at www.reliefweb.int.  
• USAID encourages cash donations because they allow aid professionals to procure the exact items needed (often in the affected region); reduce the burden on scarce resources (such as transportation routes, staff time, warehouse space, etc); can be transferred very quickly and without transportation costs; support the economy of the disaster-stricken region; and ensure culturally, dietary, and environmentally appropriate assistance.
• More information can be found at:
  • USAID:  www.usaid.gov – Keyword:  Donations
  • The Center for International Disaster Information:  www.cidi.org or (703) 276-1914
  • Information on relief activities of the humanitarian community can be found at www.reliefweb.int

USAID/OFDA bulletins appear on the USAID web site at http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaster_assistance/.

SOURCE USAID