US diverts 4,000 troops to aid Haiti relief

The move to increase the number of US troops to around 16,000 would “significantly” increase the ability to distribute aid, the Navy said.

The search for survivors of Haiti’s earthquake has started to wind down as international rescue teams begin pulling back and aid, though more plentiful, is still not enough for the tens of thousands left homeless and injured.

Yesterday a strong aftershock sent panic throughout the country as many feared that more building would collapse. No further casualties or damage were reported from the 6.1 magnitude aftershock and it failed to slow the international effort.

Rescue teams still continued to pull survivors from the rubble yesterday, including a 22-day-old baby.

Authorities have estimated that 100,000 to 200,000 people were killed in the earthquake that struck eight days ago. More than 75,000 people have been buried in mass graves so far.

The epicentre of the 7.0 magnitude quake hit the capital city Port-au-Prince destroying homes, governmental buildings and the UN headquaters.

A Danish UN worker who spent five days stuck in the rubble has spoken about his ordeal. Jens Tranum Kristensen how has vowed to stay in Haiti told a Danish broadcaster that he “feel surprisingly well” and was “overwhelmed to be alive.”

The UN is adding 2,000 troops and 1,500 police to the 9,000-member peacekeeping mission already in Haiti.

Relief effort gathers pace

Violence and looting has subsided in the country as US troops provided security for water and food distribution for the thousands left displaced.

Jon Andrus, deputy director of the Pan American Health Organization, said that although progress was being made there was still a long way to go.

“Are we satisfied with the job we are doing? Definitely not,” he said.

“But progress is being made. Think of what we started with when the world came crashing down on Haiti. No roads, only rubble and dead bodies. No communication, only death and despair.”

Doctors Without Borders said there were 10-to-12-day backlogs of patients at some of its surgical sites and they are seeing infections of untreated wounds.

“Some victims are already dying of sepsis,” the group said.

The city’s water system was only partially functional but tanker trucks began to deliver water to the larger makeshift camps, where vendors did brisk business selling charcoal to families who were using small tin barbecues to cook.

Overcrowding in parks and other areas where people set up temporary shelters stressed sanitation and hygiene beyond the breaking point. Residents of the city have been sleeping outdoors because their homes were destroyed or out of fear that aftershocks would bring down more buildings.

The World Food Programme had provided 200,000 people with rations for seven days. The International Organization for Migration estimated that 200,000 families – or 1 million people – were in need of immediate shelter.

Many people were surviving on high-protein biscuits or dry emergency rations. The Food for the Poor charity managed to reopen its kitchens in Port-au-Prince and served up vats of rice, beans and chicken, giving thousands of people their first hot meal in more than a week.