UN: Search and rescue phase in Haiti over, 132 saved
January 23rd, 2010 - 9:42 pm ICT by IANSGeneva, Jan 23 (DPA) The government of Haiti has declared the search and rescue phase of the relief efforts over, the United Nations said Saturday.
The focus would shift to helping the survivors of the devastating Jan 12 earthquake.
“The Government has declared the search and rescue phase over. There were 132 live rescues by international search and rescue teams,” the latest report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
People with means were being encouraged to leave the capital Port-au-Prince and find accommodations elsewhere. According to UN estimates, about 1 million people might be fleeing the city for the countryside.
Shelter for the homeless of Haiti was a primary concern for the UN, along with an “overwhelming” number of people with untreated injuries, according to the OCHA report.
To date, the Haitian government counted 111,481 confirmed deaths in several areas of the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.
The UN also reported improvements in the efforts to get aid to those in need, including food and medicine.
Meanwhile, the international organization Medecins Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders, MSF) warned of increasing tensions in some slums, and a rise in the number of wounds from gunshot and machetes in those areas, which were plagued with violence even prior to the earthquake.
- Search for survivors ends as Haiti toll at 111,000 - Jan 24, 2010
- More than 111,000 deaths confirmed in Haiti quake - Jan 23, 2010
- Haiti man rescued 11 days after quake - Jan 24, 2010
- Relief teams helping Haiti's traumatized quake victims - Jan 15, 2010
- Thousands feared killed as massive quake hits Haiti (Fourth Lead) - Jan 14, 2010
- Massive earthquake devastates Haiti (Second Lead) - Jan 13, 2010
- Medical services in Haiti 'overwhelmed' by quake - Jan 14, 2010
- ArcelorMittal gives $1mn to rehouse Haiti quake victims - Jan 25, 2010
- Shortages become acute on ground in Haiti (Second Lead) - Jan 15, 2010
- Indian peacekeepers honoured in Haiti - May 11, 2012
- Haiti has enough search-rescue teams, 27 on the ground - Jan 16, 2010
- Hundreds feared dead in massive earthquake in Haiti (Third Lead) - Jan 13, 2010
- Relief effort ramps up in Haiti as survivor window closes - Jan 17, 2010
- Haiti miracle: Two survivors rescued 11 days after killer quake - Jan 24, 2010
- Tens of thousands feared dead in Haitian earthquake (Second Lead) - Jan 14, 2010
Tags: countryside, doctors without borders, earthquake, frontiers, government of haiti, gunshot, haitian government, humanitarian affairs, international organization, international search, machetes, overwhelming number, poorest country, port au prince, relief efforts, search and rescue, shelter for the homeless, slums, tensions, western hemisphere