Haiti
by Rebekah Rolling
January 29, 2010
Haiti residents had their world turned upside down on Tuesday, January 12th at 4:53 p.m. when an earthquake destroyed many lives. The earthquake measured a seven on the richter scale and the epicenter was sixteen miles from the capital city, Port-au-Prince.
The earthquake has done massive amount of damage to Haiti. Not only have almost 200,000 people lost their lives, but 1.5 million have become homeless and 194,000 have been injured. Houses, businesses, the Presidential Palace, the National Assembly, the Port-au-Prince Cathedral, and other important buildings were destroyed in the quake.
Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, and 80 percent of its citizens live below the poverty line. It is a country that does not have the equipment or money to deal with a disaster this large. The Red Cross is in Haiti giving water, food, tents, mosquito nets, and cooking utensils. The United States Government, along with some European Nations has said they will send billions of dollars in aid. The U.S. has already sent 17,000 U.S. troops to Haiti It will take a long time before Haiti is able to be rebuilt and its citizens are back at peace.
