Haiti Earthquake

On January 13, 2010 an Earthquake struck in Haiti. Haiti is in the Caribbean near the country of Mexico. Reporters say that many people were injured during the Earthquake. Red Cross also says that 3 million people were affected by this very Earthquake. The Earthquake, which struck about 15 km (10 miles) south-west of Port-au-Prince, was quickly followed by two strong aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 magnitude. A French official told AFP about 200 people were missing in the collapsed Hotel Montana, which is popular with tourists. There have also been some reports of looting overnight. Rachmani Domersant an operations manager with the Food for the Poor charity, told Reuters that overnight the capital was in total darkness. "You have thousands of people sitting in the streets with nowhere to go. There are people running, crying, screaming." He says.

In a statement issued in New York, the UN said that its local HQ in Haiti had "sustained serious damage along with other UN installations" and "a large number" of personnel were missing. UN peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy said it was unclear how many people were in the building. The head of the UN mission in Haiti, Hedi Annabi, was reported to have been inside and is unaccounted for. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he was believed to be dead. The UN's stabilisation mission plays a vital role in ensuring security in Haiti. Raymond Joseph, Haiti's ambassador to the US, said the presidential palace, the tax office, the ministry of commerce and the foreign ministry had all been damaged, but the airport was intact. He and Haiti's ambassador to Mexico, Robert Manuel, both said that President Rene Preval and his wife had survived the quake.

The Earthquake struck Haiti Leaving people homeless and with nothing to do. The shock many people got from the Earthquake also affected their mental health leaving them not just sad but very depressed. The people of Haiti are depressed because their homes were most probably destroyed or they lost loved ones. Word is that some kids would wait for their parents after school but their parents would never come because they passed on during the Earthquake. As shown in the picture above this woman is most definitely left with nothing to do, no home, no family and very depressed. That is what Earthquakes can do to others. It is very sad to watch things like this happen to other people because of a natural disaster.