Haiti Quake Updates

On Tuesday January 12th, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake devastated the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The earthquake has destroyed the nations capital of Port-au-Prince including the Parliament building, the United Nations national headquarters, the hospital, the prison and many homes and businesses. Tens of thousands are dead and millions displaced in an event that United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has described as the worst humanitarian crisis in decades.

Photo by IFRC.

The United Nations, who lost 46 staff members in the earthquake and have hundreds more still missing, are coordinating emergency relief efforts in Haiti. Due to proximity, the United States have been able to offer immediate assistance on the ground in Haiti, having taken charge of the Port-au-Prince airport where a large proportion of foreign aid is currently being received.

Representatives from many non-government organisations are also in the country assisting with distribution of water and food to displaced Haitians and with hospitals overwhelmed, Medecins Sans Frontieres are assisting with medical care in makeshift hospitals run out of tents.

Role of Social Media
The use of social media platforms including Twitter and Facebook in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake has meant that an increasing level of coverage has reached more people in less time than that achieved through traditional media outlets. Social media has proved its value as a tool that can not only be used to communicate information but also to increase awareness and instigate a global call to action.

Photo by treslola.

Less than a week after the catastrophic event, donations of $US22mn had been pledged through the Red Cross text message campaign. Text message campaigns enable individuals to easily and impulsively donate while Twitter allows for promotion of the campaign to spread and reach a large global audience. Spokesperson for the American Red Cross, Gloria Huang, has said "...twitter has played an extremely significant part".

Social media platforms such as a Twitter have been able to bridge the geographical and even causal distance that individuals may once have felt from such disasters. The response to the social media promoted campaigns for relief for Haiti have proven that solidarity with those in the midst of tragedy can be achieved, all that is needed is a simple method by which to become aware of unfolding devastation and similarly simple way to act on that awareness.

Photo by IFRC.

What You Can Do
There is much to be done in the rebuilding of the nations capital and supporting its displaced population in the interim. Out of this crisis comes the opportunity to not only restore but improve infrastructure in Haiti. A conference, to be held in Montreal on January 25, has been called to discuss the long-term plan for rebuilding Haiti.

While millions of dollars have been donated, continuing support will be needed over the upcoming months and years. You can assist by pledging a donation to any of the following campaigns:

• United Kingdom: Donate 5 pounds by texting 70077 or donate online (via Disasters Emergency Committee)

• United States: Donate $10 by texting "Haiti" to 90999 (via Red Cross)

• Donate 1 Days Wage to Haiti Relief Rebuild Fund.

• Donate to Wyclef Jean's Yele or donate $5 by texting "YELE" to 501501.

• Donate to Oxfam. Oxfam have around 200 staff in Haiti and are currently distributing water and sanitation supplies.

• Call for Haiti's foreign debt to be cancelled.

Labels: earthquake, haiti, social media, twitter, united kingdom

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In the aftermath of natural disasters, first responders are partnering with software developers and other tech experts to help in humanitarian efforts. Guest host Audie Cornish speaks to NPR's social media manager Andy Carvin about hacking events called "Crisis Camps," taking place in Washington, D.C., and other cities Saturday.

The Guardian Tech Weekly podcast team, discusses how the digitalworld has responded to the Haiti Earthquake. Five Minute spot, begins at 15:19 mins in.

Oxfam alone has raised more than $101,000 so far for Haitian quake relief through its Facebook Causes application, which is becoming a "powerful fundraising tool," said spokeswoman Helen DaSliva.

The Global Disaster Relief page is set up to help with all disasters, not just the quake in Haiti, and was an outgrowth of what Facebook employees were seeing from its 350 million members in the aftermath of the Haiti disaster, said spokesman Andrew Noyes.

There have been more than 1,500 status updates per minute containing the word "Haiti," he said. Other pages have been started to help find missing relatives or friends.

"Facebook and other social media sites are offering a lifeline in Haiti in a way that the Internet has never experienced before," Noyes said.

Check out Oxfam on Facebook and give through the Causes application:
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/431371

Type "Haiti" into Twitter, Facebook or Youtube and you soon encounter a message from @redcross sent at 05:38 GMT on Jan 13.

In less than 48 hours, the American Red Cross had received more than $35m in donations - including $8m directly from texts.

"This breaks all world records for a mobile giving campaign," says their spokeswoman, Gloria Huang.

"It's been incredible. People have donated more to Haiti than to Hurricane Katrina or the tsunami in Asia.

"And Twitter has played an extremely significant part."

Charities such as Oxfam have been quick to harness the power of social networking. Sarah Brown of Oxfam said that the response through Oxfam's Twitter feed had been remarkable. "Social networking sites such as Twitter allow us to get the news out there as fast as possible, and the response in terms of re-tweeting from our 8,000 followers has been amazing," she said.

In its latest news release, sent out via Twitter, Oxfam notes: “More than 85 per cent of people in Haiti already live in poverty. With major buildings destroyed it is likely that less well-constructed homes will be even more seriously affected. This earthquake is grim news for the poor people of Haiti. We are calling for the generous support of the UK public to help us save lives.”

Oxfam is also using the audio blogging site ipadio to deliver radio-style reports from its correspondent Louis Belanger, who is en route to Haiti to help assess the damage caused by the earthquake, which measured 7.0 on the Richter scale.