The first wave of international aid landed today in quake-battered Haiti as part of an urgent effort rivaling the worldwide response to the 2004 tsunami. Countries and international aid groups scrambled to provide medical care, food and water to tens of thousands after Tuesday's devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake. Authorities called the next couple of days crucial to saving the lives of people buried under rubble, most of whom are in the capital Port-Au-Prince. Many Haitian officials have said that the capital has been destroyed. The earthquake affected roughly 1 in 3 Haitians, about 3 million people, the Red Cross estimated. It was so strong that it was felt in Cuba, more than 200 miles away. Haitian President Rene Preval said he had heard estimates of up to 50,000 dead, but that it was too early to know for sure. Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said he worries that several hundred thousand people were killed. And Felix Augustin, the Haitian consul general to the United Nations, said more than 100,000 may have perished. At least 22 U.N. peacekeepers were killed in the quake as well as Joseph Serge Miot, Roman Catholic archbishop of Port-au-Prince. About 150 U.N. staff members remain unaccounted for in the earthquake's aftermath, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
Search and rescue units geared up to save those trapped in the capital, where the quake pancaked houses and chased others out in the streets, prompting thousands to sleep out in the open on mattresses and cardboard boxes. Rubble-strewn roads, downed trees and a battered communications network hampered humanitarian groups trying to get supplies to victims. Belize, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Cuba, France, Guyana, Israel Iceland, Japan, Morocco, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, the UK and the US, have all offered aid. Many countries are sending rescue and military troops to aid in the search and rescue. In addition, the United Nations announced $10 million in aid and the World Bank pledged $100 million.
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