Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Ah! What A Day!
Today, instead of blogging about what happened today in my life, I would like to talk about the recent tragedy, The Haiti Earthquake.
The Haiti Earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7 earthquake, one of the worst earthquakes Haiti has experienced. The aftershocks were equally destructive. Within the first 9 hours, 26 aftershocks that were recorded were of magnitude 4.2 or greater. Like other earthquakes and aftershocks, it took many lives. Even worse, it struck the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince. The Haitian government, on 24th January, gave a confirmed death toll of over 150,000 in the capital alone. Injuries were estimated to be about 250,000 and more than a million homeless, resulting in many sleeping in the streets. Many buildings collapsed, trapping even more Haitians under rubble, increasing the risk of death. There was despair about Haiti.
As soon as the earthquake struck, many countries responded and launched fund-raising efforts, as well as sending search and rescue teams. The neighboring Dominican Republic was the first country to give aid to Haiti, sending water, food and heavy-lifting machinery. Many other organizations like the American Red Cross and the Giving Children Hope put in as much effort as they could to help the Haitians.
Although with so many organization helping out, resources are still short and many Haitians fought for food and water. More were killed, but nothing could be done. Hospitals could also only contain and treat so many, therefore, does that could survive could have died from lost of blood or diseases.
If you have read this post, the pictures are horrifying and they need your support. Please donate as much as you can. Even $1 will make a big difference. Spare a hand for those who need your help. If everyone donates $1, the Haitians will be able to live better.
Information and pictures adapted from :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiti_Earthquake
1:53 AM By Bert Lee
