Reports have been trickling in all day from our staff and mission partners in Haiti. The devastation from yesterday’s 7.2-scale earthquake has been profound.
“It looks like Dante’s Inferno. There are dead bodies everywhere,” said Mike Henry, our Haiti projects officer who is on the ground in Port-au-Prince today, working with our partners to bring aid to the people.
The most immediate needs are medical aid, food and water, and shelter. We’ve created a disaster relief fund to help provide urgent aid to Haiti’s desperate earthquake victims. The money we raise will help provide cash grants to our ministry partners to meet their most immediate needs.
You can donate by visiting our disaster relief page, sending a check to Cross International Catholic Outreach at 600 SW 3rd Street, Suite 2201, Pompano Beach, Florida 33060, or calling in a donation by phone at 800-391-8545.
The earthquake is the worst Haiti has seen in two centuries. The major quake sent 33 aftershocks ranging in magnitude from 4.2 to 5.9. Officials are estimating that about 3 million people — a third of Haiti’s population — were affected by the quake. Haiti’s prime minister announced today that he believes more than 100,000 have died in the disaster. Among those reported dead was Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot of Port-au-Prince.
One of our project officers received an email from a friend doing relief work in Port-au-Prince today who said, “Much of the capital is in ruins. Having spent the last 12 hours in the streets, I assure you — you won’t have a hard time finding someone to help.”
Even our mission partners in Jacmel, a city three hours away from the quake’s epicenter in Port-au-Prince, felt the shock. Below is an excerpt from their email:
“Though it felt like hours, I think the earthquake lasted for about one minute. After it stopped, we went outside and heard people everywhere yelling and screaming and running all over the place. I was thankful to the Lord that we were safe. We went out to the people in the neighborhood to find out if anybody was hurt or needed help. We were told of several people whose homes had collapsed….All that we can do in this moment is pray. We thank the Lord who holds our lives in His hands. And we pray that lives are preserved all throughout Haiti during this time of crisis.”
Please continue to pray for the people of Haiti and for protection over our staff and other aid workers in the country, and join us in helping the disaster victims. We need your support!