The U.S. is rushing aid and assistance to the quake stricken nation of Haiti in response to the unfolding disaster. President Obama made a public statement this morning expressing the condolences and support of the American people and directing his administration to, “respond with a swift, coordinated, and aggressive effort to save lives.” Based on news wire reports I’ve culled the following list of actions taken by the U.S. in response to the Haiti earthquake:
- Obama named U.S. Agency for International Development administrator Rajiv Shah to coordinate American relief efforts, USAID is sending a disaster response team to Haiti, the team should arrive later today to coordinate the delivery of food, water and medicine
- U.S. military overflights have assessed the quake damage and relayed this info to disaster relief planners
- civilian disaster assistance teams from Florida, Virginia and California will arrive throughout today and tomorrow
- Obama is considering sending a brigade of U.S. troops to aid U.N. relief efforts as well as a Marine amphibious ship with an expeditionary unit of 2,000 Marines that could land troops
- members of the U.S. Air Force 1st Special Operations Wing will arrive Wednesday afternoon to help with air traffic control and airfield operations at the international airport at Port au Prince
- the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson is under way and expected to arrive off the coast of Haiti Thursday, additional U.S. Navy ships are also under way
- The USS Comfort hospital ship, now berthed in Baltimore, has begun to recall its crew and 560 medical personnel to prepare to depart to Haiti
- the U.S. Southern Command is deploying a team of 30 engineers, operational planners and other specialists to Haiti
As in recent disasters, the social networking site Twitter has become a major resource. The New York Times has assembled a list of the top tweets offering reports from individuals, news organizations, and relief agencies in Haiti, the constantly updated list can be found here.
Photo Credit: The Los Angeles County Fire Department urban search and rescue team loads equipment before heading to Haiti Jan. 12. (Reuters)