Earthquake in Haiti

[Hammer]

The information that is coming out of Port du Prince is horrific. They fear 500,000 may have been killed.

Please keep the people in this impoverished nation in your thoughts...

[Mousefever]

Haiti seems to get hit with natural disasters all the time. From all accounts, this is the worst earthquake there in almost 250 years. I can't even comprehend losing 500,000 people in one event.

Amy

[SBETigg]

Truly horrific. The people of Haiti are in my prayers.

[vicster]

They are definitely in my prayers!

[MNNHFLTX]

What a horrible thing to happen to a country already dealing with such extreme poverty. I am glad to see that the U.S. (government and private) agencies stepping up to the plate in sending aid.

Haiti is in my prayers too.

[Dznygrl79]

Oh prayers for all involved, a sad fact that I just heard (GMA tweet) is that the aid all the countries will send will be more food and water than they normally get, they must have felt forgotten before this and beyond devestated now...

[RedSoxFan]

So sad. The pictures are horrific. Thoughts and prayers to everyone in Haiti.

[amd780]

This is so heartbreaking - it hits close to home because one of my good friends at work has family living in Haiti. As of this afternoon, she still was unable to establish any kind of communication with them at all. My thoughts and prayers are with all who are affected by this.

[Joannelet]

This whole thing is soooo sad
They don't deserve it at all. ugh. They are all in my thoughts and prayers.

[Disney4us2]

Earthquakes are terrifying and devistating. My heart goes out to all those people. I heard that the Red Cross has run out of supplies/meds etc. That is just soooo sad.

I have been through 2 major earthquakes (Sylmar and Northridge). Since those quakes, I sleep with a flashlight near by. Plan our rooms so things won't fall on the beds in case one hits at night. I won't drive on high freeway overpasses. Those quakes really affected me, the thought of another big one is always in the back of my mind. Unlike weather forcasts for tornado's or hurricanes, you never know when they will hit.

[garymacd]

As a long-time supporter, part-time employee and volunteer with the Canadian Red Cross I would like to urge you all to please make a donation to the Haiti Earthquake relief fund through your national or local Red Cross office or website. Many banks are also setting up accounts to accept the donations. I just visited the Canadian Red Cross website and sent my donation.

Any amount will help.

[vicster]

Ditto here. I love the way the countries are all helping - that's the way the world should be to help one another in our time of need. That's what this world should be like always!

Everyone please help those in need.

[diz_girl]

It's just so heartbreaking to see the devastation there. All of that suffering is unimaginable. It is especially hard to see the babies and children who are suffering or worse.

But it's amazing to see the outpouring of support from individuals and nations. Over $10M has been raised from text message donations alone. It's also amazing to see some people being pulled from the rubble without a scratch on them.

My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Haiti. May they find relief very, very soon.

[PetefromRI]

If everyone would just send 10.00 we could do miracles!

[Mousefever]

I donated today to UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief. I donate through them not only because I'm a United Methodist, but because 100% of my money goes to help people in need. And even though they are a religious organization, there are no strings attached to the help received by suffering people.

Make sure you've researched any organization you donate through. I always want to make sure that money I donate goes directly to the affected people.

Amy

[Hammer]

I donated today to UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief. I donate through them not only because I'm a United Methodist, but because 100% of my money goes to help people in need. And even though they are a religious organization, there are no strings attached to the help received by suffering people.

Make sure you've researched any organization you donate through. I always want to make sure that money I donate goes directly to the affected people.

Amy

Amy brings up a good point. Please check out any organization before you donate. There are already reports of people who have used this tragic situation as an opportunity to create scams . My recommendation is to give through your respective religious organization like Amy did. I'm doing this as well with my parish (I'm Roman Catholic) and Catholic Relief Services. The money will be going directly to the people in Haiti and rebuilding efforts, which include rebuilding the Catholic seminary which was destroyed (killing 100 priests and seminary students, including the Archbishop). If you do not practice any organized religion, I think the Red Cross or the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund would be good alternatives.

[Scar]

Over $10M has been raised from text message donations alone.

I don't text so this is not an option for me, but, I have a cynical question... When does this money arrive in Haiti? If someone texts today, they won't actually pay the bill for maybe 6 weeks or more. Are the phone companies fronting the money in the hopes that their customers will pay in six weeks?

[diz_girl]

I don't text so this is not an option for me, but, I have a cynical question... When does this money arrive in Haiti? If someone texts today, they won't actually pay the bill for maybe 6 weeks or more. Are the phone companies fronting the money in the hopes that their customers will pay in six weeks?

Most, if not all of the companies are fronting the money. Verizon (my carrier) was the first to do this, some others have followed, but Sprint may still be lagging behind. Under normal circumstances, the funds would take a couple of months to reach the charities, but in the case of the Haiti disaster, the telecom companies are making an exception. The healthy companies probably have enough extra cash on-hand to cover the donations.