Disaster in Haiti - Relief efforts

[Philly]

We can use this thread if you know of a charity / relief group that really uses most of the money donated to assist.

Also according to geologists, The fault line that Haiti is on also stretches into Kingston Jamaica. The last time this fault line unleashed was 1907.




1University of Texas
Purdue University
University of Wisconsin
USGS - Menlo Park , California
University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica

The Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone (EPGFZ) extends from south-central Hispaniola to Jamaica and defines the southern edge of the Gonave microplate. The EPGFZ forms a continuous and prominent geomorphic lineament from the Enriquillo Valley of the Dominican Republic , through the southern peninsula of Haiti , across the Jamaica Passage between Jamaica and Haiti and along the Plantain Garden fault zone bounding the southern edge of the Blue Mountains of eastern Jamaica . The linearity of the fault and its association with en echelon folds, pull-apart basins, and restraining bends indicates that motion is left-lateral and late Quaternary in age. Historical earthquakes indicate that the last major ruptures of the fault occurred in an east to west time-space progression that began in 1751 in south-central Hispaniola and perhaps culminated in the Kingston , Jamaica , event in 1907. Recorded seismicity over the past 40 years is sparse as expected from a fully locked fault plane. GPS-constrained block models with elastic strain accumulation give ~8 mm/year of slip rate on the fault. Since the last major event in south-central Dominican Republic was in 1751, that yields ~2 meters of accumulated strain deficit, or a Mw=7.2 earthquake if all is released in a single event today. The two largest cities within 30 km of the fault zone are Port-au-Prince , Haiti , and Kingston , Jamaica , with a combined population of 3.65 million inhabitants. We present initial results from a paleoseismic study of the Jamaica segment of the EGPGFZ conducted in January, 2008, to determine the chronology of its historic and prehistoric ruptures. Such studies should be considered high priority in Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic given the seismic hazards posed by the fault.

[unionguy]

Father Jean Jadotte, associate pastor of Miami's Notre Dame D'Haiti parish, sends these prayer intentions for Haiti.


-We are praying for hope despite this situation, that even as we face darkness, people may see a pinpoint of light.

-Praying for families.

-Pray for a greater conscience among everyone not just in Haiti but all over that we must do something [to help].

-Pray for a spirit of thanksgiving for international agencies for their good heart and good faith.

-Pray for relief workers to have a spirit of patience and perseverance.

-For those who at this time are in search of meaning in their lives and peace

Catholic Relief Services is one of a few organizations that already had a on the ground presence in Haiti. To donate click here (http://crs.org/)

[Philly]

Mobile phone relief: Americans text aid to Haiti

By Karin Zeitvogel (AFP) – 6 hours ago

WASHINGTON — Text HAITI to 90999 or Yele to 501501. Americans are digging deep for Haiti and sending millions of dollars to relief organizations via innovative mobile phone giving campaigns.

A mobile phone campaign set up by the US Red Cross to raise money for victims of the cataclysmic earthquake in Haiti had raised more than eight million dollars early Friday, with the money pouring in at the rate of 100,000 dollars an hour, officials said.

US donors were donating 10 dollars at a time for the Haiti relief effort by texting the word HAITI to 90999, a special cellphone number set up within hours of the quake by the American Red Cross, with help from the State Department.

A spokeswoman for the US Red Cross, Abi Weaver, said the mobile giving campaign passed the seven-million-dollar mark at 11:00 pm (0300 GMT) on Thursday, two days after the powerful quake struck the impoverished Caribbean island state, reducing much of the capital Port-au-Prince to rubble.

The amount donated appears on donors' monthly phone bills, and 100 percent of the pledged amount is remitted by the phone service provider to the Mobile Giving Foundation, which is coordinating the six groups' cellphone-giving campaign in the United States.

[Jane]

I donated via Unicef and also through a website that I subscribe to ,also Casinomeister.com has a donation link that I have also donated through.

This is urgent. They need it now. They never had a 'First Responder' unit over there and so now it has become more than a nightmare. The heat and the fact that there is violence is very forgivable. I can understand it because they never had the help in the first place anyway. They are literally fighting to stay alive, those that are..

These souls need as much help as we can give.

It has come to a point when for us 'viewers' it becomes intollerable to listen to , to watch...but for goodness sake, to actually be in that hell, cannot be tuned out.

We do understand though to a point, we had our hell almost 10 years ago....and then Katrina. And we had help from all over the world. We do unite when it counts, don't we.