Haiti's Prime Minister Declares a State of Emergency

Photos

Haiti - search and rescue

see larger image

uploaded by IFRC

• 

  uploaded by IFRC | add comment

• 

  uploaded by IFRC | add comment

Port au Prince airport is busy as never before.  An airport that normally receives three aircraft per day, now receives as many as 500 flights a day.  While aid is pouring in at an unprecedented rate, distribution of those supplies are a major problem.

Helicopters operating from U.S. ships are able to distribute some supplies at predesignated Landing Zones, but not enough to make a real difference yet.

With a hungry and thirsty population, a tight rope is being  walked to keep the situation under control.

This evening Haitian Prime Minister Jean Max Bellerive has declared an Emergency.  The Emergency will last until the end of the month.  According to Bellerive, 70,000 bodies have already been buried in mass graves.  Doctors say they have 12-24  hours to operate on patients if they are not to die.

President Obama has mobilized thousand of Reserves to assist with the crisis.

Lieutenant General Ken Keen, the commander of the US military operation in Haiti, says the US troops will work to restore security.

"We are here principally for a humanitarian assistance operation, but security is a critical component ... we are going to have to address the situation, the security," he said.