Earthquake Update/Cap-Haitien

It's 9pm Tuesday...the "worst day in Haiti's history" according to one report sent in to CNN...nearly 3 hours ago a 7.0 quake hit the southern city of Port au Prince with its epicenter ten miles to the west in Carre four.

I just spoke with Linda Poindexter who had heard from Dorothy Frederickson that Cap-Haitien has been spared...her home is safe. Hanania Orelus, the clinic administrator, called to let Dorothy know all is well...so far. Hanania's husband is a police officer in PAP and his home was destroyed (he is safe) but many police officers were lost in the quake. We are thankful that this brand new father will be able to help others in the disaster and that his life was spared.

One has to wonder how many more natural disasters will be inflicted upon Haiti, especially the area of Port au Prince...they are still recovering from four hurricanes that hit in 2008 plus the two schools that collapsed.

Please pray for this country, this embattled people and for the relief workers that will, again, rush to assist where they can. Linda Poindexter leaves this Friday for Haiti to await the arrival of a VIM team from Minnesota...she's "covering" for Dorothy who reports continued progress with her physical therapy after knee replacement surgery 11/30/09. Linda will need our prayers as well.

Cap-Haitien is the 2nd largest city in Haiti...about 200 miles north of PAP...and has a population of around 300,000 depending on whose statistics you consider reliable. It's a port, has a fire station (the only one other than in PAP), an airport and a United Nations peace keeping force is based there. The UN is also involved in food distribution and will likely be called upon for disaster assistance.

It has rained for nearly a week which has contributed to loss of email service and further disruption of electric service so it was a blessing that Hanania was able to reach Dorothy by telephone.

Central supports the Haiti Hot Lunch Program in Carre Four, feeding hundreds of school children every day in a secure compound...due to a block wall around the buildings and play area. We have no news regarding the school. This is the center of the quake...one can only pray that all are safe.

Haiti is no longer a "place" for dozens of Centralites who have made the trip there over the years...it's home to our friends, it's very much more real than a video clip or "sound-bite".
Staton