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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Haiti update |
| 2010-01-19 |
| Marines are to come ashore today or tomorrow at Legone, which has seen no aid to date. Very near the epicenter. Canadians supposed to be putting troops in at Jacmel, on southern coast. Again, no aid to date. Port assessment was mixed. Piers have damage and show movement. Part of port may open this week, at least to LCU's. Keep in mind just how small PaP airport is. 1 runway, 2 ramps, v limited parking. Many complaints about landings are just about not having room for the plane for the time it would take to unload. Haitians working air traffic control and priorities are in writing from Govt of Haiti. Paras have established some forward bases and will do more. Handing out supplies as fast as they can. Only Haitian service still functioning seems to be Haitian Coast Guard. Our CG partnering with them on their base in PaP. For police, it looks like New Orleans all over again. Urban SAR has rescued about 70 people, a huge success for them but pales in comparison to the many who were trapped. Impossible to rescue the numbers that were buried. They squeezed some Antonovs onto the PaP runway somehow. C-17 and C-130 traffic is routine but the Russian planes nees more runway than PaP technically has. Coast Guard delivered a baby aboard cutter Tahoma the other day. |
| Posted by:Chuck Simmins |
| #1 In their first action since arriving in Haiti, the Marines have seized a small cow pasture near Leogane. There were no casualties. [snark] They're reporting it that way, so... Beachmaster gear ashore, clearing the way for the amphibs. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2010-01-19 14:41 |