The earthquake of January killed 240,000 people and displaced another 1.3 million of the total 3 million in the Port au Prince metro area. Currently there are many fully or partially destroyed buildings on every block. Buildings next to unstable buildings are unsafe to use. People have moved to any open areas, parks, sidewalks, and empty lots with tents and shacks. Water supplies and latrines are slowly being brought to these areas, however electricity is almost unheard of. There is almost no rental property available. Clearing rubble has only begun. Titles to properties are unclear and owners have little capital to invest. All these factors have led to a grid lock in relocation of people and the construction of temporary and permanent housing.

Leaders, infrastructure and institutions have been destroyed or disrupted. Many leaders have been killed or disabled. All schools and higher education in the area are closed. Government agencies are just beginning to function. The main port is closed and all shipping enters thru a small private port. Import taxes and regulations also inhibit aid shipments.

The American Refugee Committee(ARC) sent people to Haiti a few days after the quake and started camp management the end of January and now manages a camp and surrounding area(about 30 acres) which has about 19,000 people. ARC is responsible for overall management, sanitation, child protection and primary health care. Other agencies add water, food and security.
Next time I’ll write more about the medical situation.