Haiti Rocked by a Powerful Earthquake

Friday, 15 January 2010. A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on Tuesday afternoon, January 12, 2010, close to the nation's capital of Port-au-Prince, a city of two million people. This was the strongest earthquake ever recorded in Haiti along this fault line.  Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, ranking 154th on the United Nations Human Development Index.

Search and rescue efforts continue at a frantic pace and now, the arrival of an increasing number of specialized search and rescue teams in Port-au-Prince are bolstering efforts. Members of PAHO/WHO's Regional Disaster Response Team arrived in Haiti on Friday and the team will gradually be strengthened over the coming weeks with logisticians, health services specialists, epidemiologists and more. Source (PAHO Web Site)

PAHO Situation Reports