shortly before noon Thursday but appeared to cause little new damage as
U.S. and international troops ramped up capacity for the quake-ravaged
country to receive humanitarian cargo, heavy equipment, fuel and other
supplies.
Three new airfields and the reopening of the
capital’s seaport Thursday will dramatically increase the amount of aid
flowing into
Gen.
the U.S. Southern Command, said the capital’s seaport will reopen
Thursday and can accommodate the moving of about 150 shipping
containers per day. He said a commercial ship is scheduled to arrive
Friday, when the port’s capacity is expected to grow to 250 containers
per day.
The three new airfields — including one in the southern coastal town of Jacmel and two in the neighboring
He said there is a list of 1,400 flights waiting to enter the
The increased flow of humanitarian aid and supplies through new entry points likely will cause greater congestion on
A fleet of 63 U.S. helicopters have been
air-dropping water, food and medical supplies into some of the
hardest-to-reach areas, particularly in Jacmel, Fraser said.
The U.S. currently has 20 ships in
waters, including the USNS Comfort, a floating hospital, and that 2,676
troops are on the ground, supported by another 10,454 aboard ships.
All are focused on delivering humanitarian supplies and providing escorts for agencies delivering them, Fraser said.
As of Thursday, “We have distributed 1.4 million
bottles of water, over 700,00 meals and roughly 22,000 pounds of
medical supplies” directly to the Haitian people, he said.
The
As more U.S. troops and international aid arrives,
Haitian government officials dug mass graves and began to brace for the
long reconstruction ahead.
Among the challenges they foresee are long-term
housing for the nearly two million made homeless by the earthquake,
rebuilding of the capital and other large cities, and jump-starting the
economy of the impoverished country.
Tens of thousands are living in tents made from
tarps and sticks in the capital’s parks and other open areas. Haitian
authorities say more than 320 such camps have emerged in
Haitian government officials are taking the people
food and water but have yet to assess the size and need of each of the
tent cities, said Prime Minister
and culture, said the international community and the Haitian
government have identified an area large enough to hold 100,000 people
in provisional shelters, but did not say where.
Government buses have been evacuating Haitians from
that it has started work on a large temporary settlement in the suburb
of Croix de Bouquets. A battalion of Brazilian troops deployed by the
With more than 200,000 feared dead and 1.5 million
left homeless, the government is still trying to assess the full extent
of the crisis.
Meanwhile, the
—
(c) 2010, The Miami Herald.
Visit
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
