earthquake haiti death toll

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Death Toll Passes 200K: PM
 Death Toll Passes 200K: PM 
HAITI EARTHQUAKE

Death Toll Passes 200K: PM

300K more injured, Jean-Max Bellerive says

(Newser) - The death toll in Haiti’s Jan. 12 earthquake has passed 200,000, the nation’s prime minister says, calling the temblor “a disaster on a planetary scale.” Jean-Max Bellerive tells AFP that some 300,000 more are injured, 250,000 homes and 30,000 businesses lost—and...

Armed Group Attacks Haiti Food Convoy

UN peacekeepers fire shots, no one hurt

(Newser) - An armed group of Haitians attacked a United Nations food convoy at an airport in a southwest town of the island nation. UN peacekeepers fired warning shots and no one was injured, said officials. Local authorities are attempting to round up escaped prisoners to protect the vulnerable population. UN officials...

6.1 Quake Shakes Haiti, 72K Bodies Buried

Frightened survivors flow into the streets

(Newser) - A strong 6.1 aftershock rolled through Haiti at 6:03am today, says the US Geological Survey, a mere 35 miles from Port-au-Prince. The quake struck at a depth of 13.7 miles, but was thought to be too far inland for any risk of tidal waves. AP reporters on...

As Help Scales Up, So Does Haiti's Nightmare

Survivors increasingly desperate for aid

(Newser) - The staggering scope of Haiti's nightmare came into sharper focus yesterday as authorities estimated 200,000 dead and 1.5 million homeless in the quake-ravaged heart of this tragic land. In one step to reassure frustrated aid groups, the US military agreed to give aid deliveries priority over military flights...

Voodoo Priests Object to Mass Burials

'Desecration' raises zombie fears

(Newser) - Haiti's voodoo priests are objecting to anonymous mass burials of earthquake victims, raising fears that such desecration could result in restless souls of the dead returning as zombies. "It it not in our culture to bury people in such a fashion," Haiti's main voodoo leader, Max Beauvoir, told...

As Time Wanes for Haiti Rescue, Aid Efforts Improve

Ban Ki-moon promises more help from the UN

(Newser) - With time running out for any survivors of last week's earthquake, international search and rescue teams intensified their efforts in Haiti. Three people were rescued yesterday—including a 7-year-old girl who survived for days in a collapsed supermarket—bringing the total number of those pulled alive from the rubble to...

10,000 US Troops Head to Haiti
 10,000 US Troops Head to Haiti 

10,000 US Troops Head to Haiti

Force aims to help keep the peace, aid relief effort

(Newser) - Some 10,000 new US troops are heading to Haiti to aid relief efforts and help calm a desperate nation spinning out of control. Ransacking of Port-au-Prince stores and homes mounted as looters were being lynched by crowds and shot dead by police. "Haitians are taking things into their...

Toll Could Hit 200K, Says Haitian Official

Chaos continues in Port-au-Prince, but relief is trickling in

(Newser) - Relief workers in Haiti have collected tens of thousands of bodies so far, with no end in sight. "We anticipate there will be between 100,000 and 200,000 dead in total, although we will never know the exact number," the interior minister tells Reuters . If the high...

Docs Warn of Looming Public Health Crisis
 Docs Warn of Looming 
 Public Health Crisis 
haiti earthquake

Docs Warn of Looming Public Health Crisis

Infection, thirst, hunger, heat threaten earthquake survivors

(Newser) - The death toll from the Haiti earthquake, which currently stands at 50,000, is certain to rise as the country's shattered infrastructure keeps medical professionals and relief workers from reaching people who need their help. "There are already high levels of diarrheal disease, respiratory disease and malnutrition," a...

US Troops Man Airport, Rescuers Race Clock
 US Troops Man Airport, 
 Rescuers Race Clock 
HAITI EARTHQUAKE

US Troops Man Airport, Rescuers Race Clock

Time running out as workers battle chaos

(Newser) - US troops have taken over security and cargo operations at Haiti's main airport as rescuers struggle mightily against deadlines for saving lives, amid chaos and near-total destruction. The chances of saving victims declines steeply after the first 48 hours following an earthquake. Efforts have been stymied by a poor medical...

Clooney, MTV Launching Haiti Telethon

Fundraiser set for next week

(Newser) - George Clooney and MTV are organizing a massive telethon next week to raise funds for quake-ravaged Haiti. There's no word yet on other celebrities who may join the effort, planned for Jan. 22, reports AP . The telethon would air on all MTV networks, including Comedy Central and VH1, and may...

Quake Caught on Video
 Quake Caught on Video 

Quake Caught on Video

Orderly scene shattered

(Newser) - The first seconds of the earthquake that delivered death and devastation to Haiti was captured on a videotape obtained by CBS News . The hazy film shows cars waiting to enter a roadway, when suddenly the scene shakes violently, cars careen to a stop and a large building appears to erupt...

Airport Chaos Snarls Relief
 Airport Chaos Snarls Relief 
haiti earthquake

Airport Chaos Snarls Relief

Facility had to stop accepting flights, hampering delivery of aid

(Newser) - The one-runway airport in Port-au-Prince is struggling to keep up with traffic and had to temporarily stop allowing incoming flights today. The airport chaos, along with damaged roads, ports, and communications, is seriously complicating international relief efforts, reports the Wall Street Journal . But in one measure of good news, the...

150 UN Haiti Staffers Missing in Rubble

Mission leader among missing workers feared dead

(Newser) - About 150 United Nations staffers, including the Haiti mission leader, are feared dead below the rubble of Port-au-Prince in what appears to be the UN's greatest-ever loss of life in a single incident. The deaths of 16 UN workers in Tuesday's massive earthquake have already been confirmed, and "It's...

'Disaster of the Century' Stymies Haiti's Leaders

Official relief efforts slow in coming; it's 'unimaginable,' says prez

(Newser) - The sheer magnitude of the Haiti earthquake seems to have left the government there unable to mount any significant relief effort. Haitians were digging through the rubble with their bare hands as international relief agencies mobilized. "It's the disaster of the century," the director of Catholic Relief Services...

Hundreds of Thousands Feared Dead in Haiti

Haitian senator says toll could be 500K, but admits no one knows

(Newser) - Haiti's prime minister says several hundred thousand could have perished in yesterday’s earthquake. “I hope that is not true, because I hope the people had the time to get out,” Jean-Max Bellerive tells CNN . He said it was difficult to discern where the masses crowding the streets...

Haitians Pile Bodies in the Streets
 Haitians Pile Bodies 
 in the Streets 
UPDATED

Haitians Pile Bodies in the Streets

Thousands expected lost, including archbishop and UN official

(Newser) - Haitians piled bodies along the devastated streets of their capital today after a powerful earthquake yesterday destroyed most of Port-au-Prince, reducing to rubble schools, shacks, the National Palace and the UN peacekeeping headquarters alike. Untold numbers were still trapped. It seemed clear that the death toll from the magnitude-7.0...

Centuries of Fault Stress Unleashed Haiti Hell

Devastating 7.0 quake brewing since 1760

(Newser) - The catastrophic earthquake that hit Haiti yesterday had been brewing along a fault line for hundreds of years, experts say. Geologists believe the tectonic plates beneath the Caribbean had been pushing against each other along the fault ever since a major quake in 1760, finally rumbling into cataclysm yesterday. The...

Major Quake, Aftershocks Rattle Haiti
 Major Quake, 
 Aftershocks Rattle Haiti 
UPDATED

Major Quake, Aftershocks Rattle Haiti

Huge death toll likely from 7.0 temblor; Obama promises aid

(Newser) - Scores of buildings have collapsed in Haiti after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck near the capital, Port-au-Prince, today, and was followed by a number of strong aftershocks, with two measuring 5.5 or higher. There’s no yet word on what’s expected to be a high death toll. An...

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