Haiti Earthquake: Complete Devastation and Suffering
At approximately 5:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday the small country of Haiti suffered an unexpected 7.0 magnitude earthquake that shattered the lives of millions of Haitians. The capital Port au Prince was for the most part completely destroyed. The death toll is expected to reach unconceivable levels with some predictions of tens of thousands dead. The tiny nation shares a part of the Island of what was once known as Hisponala with with the Dominican Republic. The Island is divided with Haitai making up the Western third of the island. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world and has suffered in the recent past from destructive hurricanes, cruel dictators and just bad luck in general. Over 80 % of the country lives in poverty and exhibits some of the lowest standards of living in the world. The devastation caused by Tuesday’s earthquake could decimate what fragile medical care exists and spawn a “perfect storm” in a country already struggling to fight rare tropical and infectious diseases, health experts said.
Even before the earthquake, the country has been the subject of intense public health efforts, as nearly half the causes of deaths have been attributed to HIV/AIDS, respiratory infections, meningitis and diarrheal diseases, according to the World Health Organization. The earthquake not only has killed tens of thousands but is putting even a larger number of people in danger from the diseases that can arrise with the electricity and water outages. The hospitals in the Port au Prince were destroyed in the quake which only complicates the relief efforts. Historically, 90 percent of the casualties in major earthquakes occur within the first three to four days. The likelihood of finding survivors dwindles in about three to four days. We can only imagine the devastation and suffering that is occuring right now on this tiny spot in the world.
