Haiti - earthquake

Worst disaster ever, says United Nations

Article published on the 2010-01-16 Latest update 2010-01-16 14:02 TU

A man cleans himself as he walks through a destroyed street in Port-au-Prince
(Photo: Reuters)

The United Nations said on Saturday that this week’s earthquake in Haiti was a “historic disaster”. They announced that in Leogane, west of the capital Port-au-Prince, 90 per cent of the buildings had been destroyed, and between 5,000 and 10,000 people had been killed.

Elisabeth Byrs, spokesperson for the UN Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told the AFP news agency that they "have never been confronted with such a disaster in the UN memory".

UN assessment teams have surveyed three towns west of Port-au-Prince, and in addition to Leogane, which was worse affected, Carrefour and Gressier saw around 40 to 50 per cent of buildings destroyed.

Twenty-seven international search and rescue teams, with 1,500 workers and 115 dogs, are active in the area, according to the UN.

So far they have rescued 58 people who were trapped in the debris, as search and rescue remains the priority. However rescue efforts are being hampered by a lack of transport, communications and fuel.

US troops who have taken control of the capital’s congested airport have managed to start the first distributions of aid.