The news came and was painful to watch — on Tuesday January 12th, at 5 p.m. local time, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake on the Richter Scale, and less than 10 km deep, was recorded off the coast of Haiti, and only 17 km from the capital, Port-au-Prince. Aftershocks have been felt measuring 5.9 and 5.5 respectively. More aftershocks are expected in the coming hours. An earthquake of this magnitude has not hit the region in more than 250 years. Port-au-Prince has been severely affected including critical services such as, electricity, water and phone lines. Communication appears to be almost impossible at this time, with phone lines down. Numerous buildings, including the United Nations building, are reported to have been seriously damaged.

Facing this humanitarian catastrophe, Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) has deployed an emergency team from the American base in Managua to provide a vital support in emergency telecoms. They are carrying satellite mobile and fixed telecommunications tools. Reinforcements will also be sent from TSF’s international Headquarters. In close contact with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO), they are now flying to Saint-Domingue in order to rejoin Port-au-Prince as soon as possible.

At this stage there is very limited access because of debris and other obstacles on the roads. It seems that no communication can be made with the airport either, which is reported to be closed. Initial reports indicate a widespread devastation, with thousands of casualties and deaths. The situation is worsened by the fact that the affected region is very highly populated (429 people/km2, 2.2 million people). 5.4 million people are potentially affected by the tragedy. Due to the large number of people still missing, a definite number cannot be made.

Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, and has a population of 9.6 million inhabitants. In recent years the effects of the global food crisis and particularly strong hurricane seasons have left the country very vulnerable.

Since 2003, TSF has deployed 4 times to Haiti to respond to conflicts and natural disasters, of which severe hurricanes Gustav and Hanna, providing communications support both to the humanitarian community and to those affected. This is the 5th deployment in Haiti for TSF.

The mission is supported by the Vodafone Foundation, the United Nations Foundation, Inmarsat, Eutelsat, Vizada, AT&T, Cable and Wireless, PCCW Global, the Communauté d’Agglomération de Pau, and the Conseil Régional d’Aquitaine.

Global Satellite USA Ready To Help In Just Two Hours!

January 13th 2010: Global Satellite USA, of South Florida, was ready when the emergency phone call arrived.  Late last night, Martin Fierstone, CEO & Founder of Global Satellite USA, was able to deliver, test and activate emergency satellite phones within two hours for Trilogy International, the cellular provider for Haiti, who were deploying personnel by private jet from Fort Lauderdale.

Fierstone commented, “With destroyed communications making it impossible to tell the extent of destruction from Tuesday afternoon's 7.0-magnitude tremor, satellite communication is critical to support the emergency and aid efforts.  We will continue to be on stand-by day or night as and when the requests come in.”

The United States and other nations began organizing aid efforts, alerting search teams and gathering supplies that will be badly needed in Haiti, the Western Hemisphere's poorest country. The international Red Cross and other aid groups announced plans for major relief operations.

United Nations Foundation Commits US$1 Million

From a spokesperson for the United Nations Foundation comes word that they are committing one million dollars to assist with the most urgent humanitarian and re-construction needs in Haiti. Donations are encouraged to the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which is the UN’s humanitarian fund responding to emergencies like the earthquake in Haiti. US$10 million from CERF have been released to prevent even further loss of life.

Donations can be made on-line at www.unfoundation.org/donate/cerf.html. 

The UN Foundation and Vodafone Foundation are also supporting the immediate deployment of two emergency response teams who will work to rebuild the communications infrastructure crippled by the earthquake. These teams, from the World Food Program and the UN partner Télécoms Sans Frontières, are deploying to provide emergency communications systems that will enable relief workers to coordinate the delivery of life-saving aid and supplies.