HTH -- Haiti Earthquake

January 15, 2010. Risk of civil unrest escalates as aid is slow to reach earthquake survivors in Haiti

SOURCE: Corporate Risk International

Haitians demanding quicker relief efforts set up at least two roadblocks with corpses in Port-au-Prince on January 14th. Authorities on the ground have expressed concern that if significant aid is not distributed within the next 48-hours violent unrest could erupt. Looting is increasingly being reported and the UN World Food Program reported on January 15th that its warehouses had been looted. Aid agencies are warning workers to remain vigilant for fear that they could be targeted by desperate survivors.

Severe bottlenecks at the airport are hampering efforts to get aid into the streets, where on the ground reports indicate that few survivors are receiving the food, water, and medical attention needed. Authorities say no aid has reached the nearby city of Jacmel. Authorities fear that deaths could soar in the coming days as even those with minor injuries face infection without basic medical treatment. The majority of makeshift triage centers in the city have been unable to provide more than a resting place for the injured, as supplies remain limited and medical workers are vastly outnumbered.

The Red Cross estimated between 45,000 to 50,000 people have been killed and three million others were injured or homeless. President Rene Preval said on January 14th that at least 7,000 people had been buried in a mass grave. Meanwhile, some 1,500 bodies have been piled outside the General Hospital, where the morgue is overwhelmed. The Red Cross has reportedly run out of body bags and bodies remain strewn throughout streets.

At least two aftershocks were reported overnight on January 15th, and authorities fear additional building collapses.

Telecommunications networks remain out in most of Port-au-Prince and the undersea communication cable linking Haiti to Caribbean television and telephone services appears to have been cut during the earthquake.

Meanwhile, hospitals and airports in the Dominican Republic are reportedly crowded as hundreds of victims have been evacuated to the neighboring country's medical facilities. Additionally, the airports are reporting heavy traffic as plans from Haiti are being diverted.