The information is from the IRIS Seismic Monitor
Haiti has a population of 10 million people, over a million live in Port-au-Prince which is closest to the epicentre 10 kilometres down and about 16 kilometres from the capital city. Reports are the initial quake lasted 35 seconds to a minute. Communications are out. AFP:
A journalist with Haitian television station Haitipal, interviewed by telephone from Port-au-Prince, told the station that public buildings across the capital had been destroyed.
“The presidential palace, the finance ministry, the ministry of public works, the ministry of communication and culture,” were all affected by the quake, the reporter said, adding that the parliament building and a cathedral in the capital were also crumbling.
World Vision Twitter feed
Compassion Canada Twitter feed
There are about 82 thousand Canadians of Haitian origin.
Canadians looking for information on relatives can call Foreign Affairs 1-800-387-3124.
Medecins sans frontieres (Doctors Without Borders)
On January 12, a magnitude 7.0 quake struck about 10 miles (15 kilometers) southwest of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. MSF teams on the ground have witnessed significant damage to its medical facilities, injuries to patients and staff, and an influx of wounded towards these hospitals in the capital.
Along with Twitter, there are 6 Facebook Haiti earthquake specific groups online. Â Help Haiti Facebook is being flooded with information.
General Hospital in Port-au-Prince is down, Palace is damaged.
No one knows how many dead or injured. The aftershock is reverberating. People can only see dust,
Obama is sending in military troops.
Phone lines that are working are: Haiti-tel and Voila.
Digicel tower is down.
Tsunami warning still in effect
All windows are shattered in houses in la plaine
Houses are falling down everywhere.
All the poor on the mountains, whose houses were build on the mountains, all tumbled down, one on top anotherA terrible situation!
Nothing works. No one available to assist anyone.
No one knows where necessary personnel are.
The  UN briefing in New York.
There is a consolation in this. There are no truly tall buildings
like there are in places like Tehran, Mexico, or Tokyo.
Since most residences are close to the ground, rescue work
isn’t quite as daunting–there are no skyscrapers.
There are, however, the shanty towns
built on hillsides and the crush of buildings at the bottom of
the hills will be a major concern. Most housing stock is
quite flimsy and usually only one- or two-storey in build.
What is frightening is the open sewerage and questionable
quality drinking water and the other unreliable infrastructure
such as electricity and natural gas. The unavailability of
fresh food for the masses is another great concern.
There is no consolation that so many millions of people are
now in such desperate dire straits. The poverty in Haiti
is so appalling, it’s unbelievable.
Then come the questions about how to relieve the
situation in Haiti and raise the society to a higher standard
of living. Where does all that start? Who shall take the lead?
Can the rest of the West convince Haiti to shed its old ways?
Check out Twitter HelpHaiti.
There is a pic of the Presidential Palace. It’s half gone.
http://tiny.cc/DQfR6
Water, food, communications, electricity, medical help are part of recovery.
They haven’t had an opportunity to get into rescue mode yet.
Global Voices Online will stay on this long term.
Shanty towns and one story buildings toppling isn’t good news, nothing build to code, NGO’s missing, the roads gone…
What Gives! is a blog updating reputable rescue and relief agencies, Facebook groups, Twitter etc.
Doctors without Borders, the UN, mission groups have not been spared.
http://www.whatgives.com/2010/01/12/helping-haiti/
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