Deathtoll likely to be in the thousands

January 13, 2010
by Rodney Olsen
1 Comment

Following on from my last post, reports are now saying that around three million people are likely to be affected by the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti and the deathtoll is expected to be in the thousands.

As previously mentioned, I visited Haiti in April 2008 at the time when there were riots in the streets over skyrocketing food prices. I was there with Compassion Australia to see the work they are doing in Haiti. Leading that tour was DJ Konz from Compassion. He joined me on the phone this morning during my radio programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM.

While details are still sketchy, DJ gave listeners a better understanding of the enormity of the disaster in Haiti. You can hear what DJ had to say by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

Compassion will endeavour to keep sponsors up to date with the situation for those children sponsored through Compassion on their website. They will also put a disaster relief plan in place as soon as possible. Your donations will make a huge difference.

[audio:http://mpegmedia.sonshinefm.ws/feeds/MOR130110_0949.mp3]

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Catastrophic Earthquake Rocks Haiti

January 13, 2010
by Rodney Olsen
2 Comments

A magnitude 7.0 quake has struck about 15 kilometres southwest of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince. A magnitude 5.9 aftershock followed soon after, followed by a magnitude 5.5 aftershock closer to the location of the first quake.

Haiti’s ambassador to the United States, Raymond Joseph, has been quoted as saying it is a catastrophe of major proportions.

The tsunami watch that was posted for Haiti and parts of Cuba, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, has now been cancelled.

I visited Haiti in April 2008 at the time when there were riots in the streets over skyrocketing food prices. We travelled a rather scary journey to the airport to leave the country when the riots escalated. Roads were blocked everywhere and we’d already seen the damage that the rioters could cause. Thankfully we were able to get an armed police escort for the last part of our journey. As our plane took to the air I felt relief for myself and the group with which I was travelling, but my heart sank for those left behind in the poorest nation in the Americas.

Many of the buildings there are less than safe to begin with so an earthquake of this magnitude will have devastating effects. There’s a report already of a hospital collapsing.

I was there with Compassion Australia to see the work they are doing in Haiti. I’m now wondering if the staff of Compassion Haiti are safe. I’m wondering about the projects they serve. I’m praying for Collens, our Compassion child in Haiti.

Can you please spare some time right now to pray for the people of Haiti?

You can stay up to date with further developments through CNN.



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