At 4:53 PM Tuesday, January 12, 2010, a major earthquake struck the Carribean island of Haiti, near Cuba, as many of you might know. With no construction standards, the weak infastructure was destroyed by the strength of this earthquake. Many lie dead and many more are left accounted for. Luckily, according to Robert Manuel, Haiti's ambassador to Mexico, Haiti's president Rene Preval and his wife have survived. The earthquake was 10 miles (15 kilometers) west of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, a depth of 5 miles (8 kilometers), and an initial magnitude of 7.0. In Port-au-Prince, many buildings were demolished, from little huts to the grand palace! The Red Cross have reported at least three million have been affected by this disaster; people are either dead or missing.
Already the poorest country in the western hemisphere, estimating to about 9.8 million civilians, Haiti's state after this disaster is terrifying. Many countries have accepted the call for aid. The U.N. has sent its special convoy, Bill Clinton, to access the situation and has also pledged to help. Likewise, Germany has also pledged to help. Canada and the U.S. have promised aid. Canada has already allocated 5 million dollars from their disaster relief fund and have also promised to send 200,000 litres of water a day to Haiti.
