WASHINGTONU.S. special operations forces have reopened Haiti's airport and United Nations -- U.S.-led teams have begun rescue efforts in the earthquake-stricken nation, according to a government situation report issued Thursday morning and obtained by the Wall Street Journal.
An 7.0-level earthquake shook the impoverished Caribbean nation Tuesday, and estimates of the dead range from tens of thousands to beyond 100,000. The U.S. government report details efforts to reach and set up relief operations in Haiti, including a broad military effort extending into next week. It did not provide casualty estimates.
President Barack Obama ordered the U.S. government to undertake a massive relief effort in Haiti.
On Wednesday night the president received a comprehensive briefing from each of the agencies involved in the Haiti operation, including the State, Defense and Homeland Security departments. Officials have been scrambling to overcome significant logistical hurdles to the operation.
According to the report, distributed internally after the White House meeting, the airport at Port-au-Prince is now able to conduct round-the clock operations, after repairs to its quake-damaged control tower led by the Pentagon's Southern Command. U.S. teams have set up a reception center for disaster relief personnel now entering the country.
A United Nations delegation transported by a U.S. Coast Guard C-130 plane is expected to arrive in Port-au-Prince about 9 a.m. EST Thursday to stand up UN relief efforts, according to an interagency conference call cited in the report, which was distributed across a range of U.S. agencies involved in rescue and relief efforts.
Seven government disaster assistance team members and 72 members of a Fairfax County, Va., search-and-rescue team arrived during the night on Wednesday, set up an operations base in the U.S. embassy and met with Haitian officials to coordinate efforts to begin fully on Thursday. U.S. government officials say some 45,000 Americans are based in Haiti, and many are unaccounted for. Search and rescue teams from Miami and Los Angeles are scheduled to arrive Thursday.
The report suggests that blocked roads and debris would continue to hamper rescue efforts. The Fairfax team cleared one American embassy residence, but found no dead or trapped people inside. The team was barred by debris in its efforts to reach UN mission headquarters and the Hotel Montana, where some UN personnel live, and would make another attempt to get through blocked roads on Thursday.
About 150 Americans are currently waiting at the embassy to be evacuated. On Wednesday, Coast Guard C-130s evacuated 42 official American government employees and 72 private American citizens to Santo Domingo.
Also Wednesday, Iceland Air delivered a search and rescue team and transported approximately 50 American citizens to Nassau.
Thursday morning two more C-130s with the capacity to evacuate 140 people are scheduled to arrive. They are scheduled to depart Port-au-Prince for Santo Domingo at 10:00 EST and may be able to conduct two additional evacuations each during the day, according to the report.
The report details a broad U.S.-led military effort, reflecting the urgency of the relief effort, but also worries about unrest in the unstable country of nine million people, of which as many as one-third affected by the quake.
The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson is due to arrive Thursday, carrying 14 helicopters, and the Marine Expeditionary Wing will arrive Friday. While the report did not provide any troop figures,
Southern Command commander Gen. Douglas Fraser said Wednesday the U.S. was also deploying a large amphibious ship carrying a 2,000-person Marine expeditionary unit, helicopters and smaller landing craft.
Also Friday, according ti the report, troops from the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne are due to arrive. While the report did not give figures, Gen. Fraser said Wednesday the military had placed a brigade of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division on alert for possible deployment. Army brigades typically contain roughly 5,000 soldiers.
The report said the Navy Destroyer USS Higgins will arrive Saturday, and the U.S. Navy Hospital Ship USNS Comfort will arrive on January 22.
Mr. Obama said the U.S. would provide a "swift, coordinated and aggressive effort" to save lives in the earthquake-devastated country. But Port-au-Prince's main seaport was heavily damaged, making it difficult for ships to dock and unload supplies
On a happier note Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie donated $1 million dollars. While I feel for the dead at least they are dead and not suffering. Looking at all the pictures there are so many people with severe injuries and broken bones who are going to be without any help for a while. I can't imagine living in so much pain.
