On Tuesday January 12th 2010 a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit just outside the Haitian capital, Port-Au-Prince.
Its affects on the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere were devastating. It is estimated 200,000 people died and more than 1.5 million were made homeless.
One of the biggest humanitarian operations in history was launched but the rollout of aid to those who needed it was criticised as being too slow.
Newstalk’s Ger Gilroy sent this series of reports on the situation as it developed in Haiti.
1) A 360 degree perspective
Ger Gilroy told Newstalk Breakfast about getting to the top of a tall multi-story building that survived the quake and having a 360-degree panoramic of the destruction…
2) Irish aid the first to flow
Ger Gilroy reports that the Irish aid agencies are in full disaster mode and are rolling out their operations successfully but, like other NGOs, are getting stuck in an admin bottleneck with the UN coming under growing criticism…
3) Water – Vital, but not everyone can get aid
Ger Gilroy reports that aid agencies say Haiti has a strong community spirit and reject that civil unrest will hamper the aid effort…
4) The Aftermath – Bodies burn in the street
Ger Gilroy reports on the appauling sight of bodies burning in the streets in Haiti and says that half of all medial procedures carried out in the last ten-days have been amputations…
