American Environmental Engineers Say Planning Saved Lives in Samoan Tsunami
Posted: November 6, 2009 Filed under: Analysis, Breaking News, Community, Current, Earthquake Tsunami Samoa/AmSampa 09, Environment, NZPacific, South Pacific Region | Tags: AMERICAN SAMOA, Apia, assistance, capital, clothing, Community-based education, delivery, earthquake, Emergencies And Disasters, following, horizontal, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, Manu’a Islands, National Science Foundation, natural disaster, Pacific Earthquake Research Center, PagoAmerican Geophysical Union Pago, Professor Costas Synolakis, Rose Atoll, samoa, strength, supplies, Swains Island, tools, tutuila, University of Southern California, Village, volunteer, weather 1 Comment[picapp src=”3/3/7/6/Further_Quake_Hits_c9ef.jpg?adImageId=7152082&imageId=6682429″ width=”500″ height=”329″ /]
USC News – University of Southern California
By Nancy Fullbright on November 4, 2009 7:55 AM
Community-based education and awareness programs minimized the death toll from the recent Samoan tsunami, though there are still ways to improve the warning and evacuation process, according to a team of researchers that traveled to Samoa last month.
Professor Costas Synolakis of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering’s Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering was a principal investigator on the team that visited the devastated islands and probed the strengths and weaknesses of the emergency response.
The team, funded by a National Science Foundation grant, collected data Oct. 4-11 to document the impacts of the 8.1 earthquake and the ensuing tsunami that occurred on Sept. 29. They examined flow depths, run-up heights, inundation distances, sediment depositions and damage patterns at various scales.
Nearly 190 people were killed in the tsunami, with the majority of deaths reported in Samoa, a country governing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and Savai’i.
American Samoa, a territory of the United States southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa, is comprised of main island Tutuila, the Manu’a Islands, Rose Atoll and Swains Island. The Samoan government estimated the total damage from the tsunami at $147 million.
The team’s survey data – especially critical in the immediate aftermath since perishable data would otherwise be lost forever – circled all of the main Samoan islands and spanned 350 kilometers from Ofu in the east to Savai’i in the west.
The team learned that the tsunami impact peaked at Poloa near Tutuila’s western tip and Lepa at Upola’s southeast coast. Maximum run-up heights reached 17 meters at Poloa, and inundation distances and damage were recorded at Pago Pago, more than 500 meters inland. The harbor at Pago Pago, normally well-protected from ordinary storm waves, is a classic tsunami trap vulnerable to long-period tsunami waves.
In addition, researchers noticed a marked difference between the evacuation process in Samoa and American Samoa. While most villagers in Samoa knew to rapidly evacuate after experiencing an earthquake, only a month earlier they had been told that cars could help with evacuations, a deadly directive since most roads run parallel to the beach.
“Many perished trapped inside cars waiting in congested small roads or in long lines behind vehicles stopped by landslides or debris on the road,” Synolakis said. “I have been on more than 20 tsunami field surveys, and in many ways, this was one of the most surprising in terms of how carnage varied over fairly short distances. This was also the first time we noted what we suspected: Misinformation kills.”
Editor’s Note: Commissioner of Fire and Emergency Services Authority, Seve Tony Hill, said they have never advised people to use a car when they see a wave coming. “That’s a no, no,” Seve told Samoan Observer. “Leave your car and run. That’s been our recommendation all the time.” Seve said he knows of:
• a girl who was killed in her car
• Tui Annandale who was killed reportedly pulled out of a car by the wave
• a palagi couple whose vehicle got hit by a wave and they got out and ran.
Seve said if people have warning of up to 15 minutes or knows from the length of a tremor something is coming, it might be better to use a vehicle to drive to safety. That is if they can drive at a safe speed – and pick up the elderly and children along the way. But “if you see a wave coming don’t get in your car. It’s a death trap,” he warned.
Emile Okal, a seismologist and professor of earth and planetary sciences at Northwestern University, conducted approximately 120 interviews with tsunami survivors in 70 different locations around Tutuila and Upolu. He found that most people were educated about tsunamis and knew how to react because of community-based educational programs, not ancestral stories.
“The last significant tsunami in Samoa occurred in 1917 and was very similar in seismology to the Sept. 29 tsunami. Surprisingly, no one I interviewed said they knew of family members being in a similar situation,” Okal said. “Since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2007 Solomon Islands tsunami, there has been a concerted effort on the part of the local government in American Samoa to post signs and conduct evacuation drills in some Samoan communities. Many villages were completely destroyed, so I am impressed that the death toll was not larger. The bottom line is education worked.”
“In addition to timing – the fact that the tsunami struck in the daylight morning hours when most people were on their way to work or school – tsunami education, awareness and evacuation exercises really contained the death toll,” noted Hermann Fritz, one of the principal investigators and an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “The technical solution doesn’t always work for coastlines near the epicenter with less than 30 minutes between earthquake and onslaught of the tsunami. Earthquakes with a duration of more than 30 seconds serve as a natural warning, resulting in a spontaneous self-evacuation.”
While Synolakis agreed that the death toll was probably minimized due to educational efforts, he said there is still a lot of progress that can be made. While working in the field on Oct. 7, the team experienced a real tsunami warning and witnessed firsthand the tremendous confusion and disorganization that followed.
“Although there are warning signs along the beaches in American Samoa, there is no information about where the evacuation routes are,” he said. “It’s also just as important to let people know when it’s safe to come back as it is to warn them. We definitely have our work cut out for us.”
The collected field data serves as benchmarking and validation of numerical tsunami models with wide-ranging applications that include forecasting, warning and sediment transport.
The researchers will present their findings at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco this December. Brief publications summarizing the immediate results will follow in research journals. This survey was partially supported by the Pacific Earthquake Research Center.
Photos: Village of Saleaaumua After Tsunami
Posted: October 9, 2009 Filed under: Breaking News, Community, Current, Earthquake Tsunami Samoa/AmSampa 09, NZPacific, South Pacific Region | Tags: Apia, assistance, capital, collection, earthquake, Emergencies And Disasters, following, hill, homelessness, horizontal, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, natural disaster, paramedic, People, Saleaaumua, samoa, shore, strength, supplies, talking, telephone, tools, Village, weather 1 CommentOct 1 2009
APIA, SAMOA – OCTOBER 01: Homeless people collect aid supplies from the Red Cross in the the hills up from the coast following the 8.3 magnitude strong earthquake which struck 200km from Samoa’s capital Apia on Tuesday, near the village of Saleaaumua on October 1, 2009 in Apia, Samoa. The quake triggered a tsunami wave up to 1.5 metres across areas of the island, with the official death toll in Samoa standing at 149. A further quake measuring 6.3 struck today 85 kilometres south-east of Tonga, but no tsunami warning or additional casualties have been reported as yet. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
[picapp src=”d/0/6/4/Further_Quake_Hits_11c7.jpg?adImageId=4878373&imageId=6682301″ width=”500″ height=”327″ /]
Oct 1 2009
APIA, SAMOA – OCTOBER 01: Aid supplies are delivered into the hills following the 8.3 magnitude strong earthquake which struck 200km from Samoa’s capital Apia on Tuesday, near the village of Saleaaumua on October 1, 2009 in Apia, Samoa. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
[picapp src=”7/c/c/d/Further_Quake_Hits_c88f.jpg?adImageId=4878722&imageId=6682303″ width=”500″ height=”333″ /]
[picapp src=”d/1/9/a/Further_Quake_Hits_36fc.jpg?adImageId=4878459&imageId=6682309″ width=”500″ height=”322″ /]
Oct 1 2009
APIA, SAMOA – OCTOBER 01: A New Zealand Army medic speaks on a satelite phone outside the New Zealand High Commission
[picapp src=”b/7/a/b/Further_Quake_Hits_123a.jpg?adImageId=4878476&imageId=6682288″ width=”500″ height=”347″ /]
Photos: Villages of Lalomanu, Saleaaumua, Lepa After Earthquake & Tsunami
Posted: October 8, 2009 Filed under: Analysis, Breaking News, Community, Current, Earthquake Tsunami Samoa/AmSampa 09, Environment, NZPacific, South Pacific Region | Tags: adult, Apia, assistance, capital, clothing, collection, delivery, earthquake, Emergencies And Disasters, family, following, hill, home, horizontal, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, Lepa Aleipata Upolu Samoa, Lino Leifi, looking, men, natural disaster, People, photos of samoa tsunami, preparation, quake triggered a tsunami, remains, rubble, samoa, samoa tsunami, samoan village of lepa, shelter, shore, stand, strength, supplies, taking, tent, tools, tourist, Tourist Resort, Village, village of Lalomanu, village of Saleaaumua, volunteer, weather Leave a commentLALOMANU-Red Cross volunteers deliver aid supplies of clothing following the 8.3 magnitude strong earthquake which struck 200km from Samoa’s capital Apia on Tuesday, in the village of Lalomanu on October 1, 2009 in Apia, Samoa. The quake triggered a tsunami wave up to 1.5 metres across areas of the island, with the official death toll in Samoa standing at 149. A further quake measuring 6.3 struck today 85 kilometres south-east of Tonga, but no tsunami warning or additional casualties have been reported as yet.(Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
To view the photos without the pictorial banner at the foot, simply click on the arrow on the right of the banner and it will recede to the left.
[picapp src=”d/7/b/8/Further_Quake_Hits_eb68.jpg?adImageId=4741302&imageId=6682427″ width=”500″ height=”326″ /]
LALOMANU – A man survey the debris at the beach in Lalomanu, Samoa. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
[picapp src=”f/0/8/f/83_Magnitude_Earthquake_9d08.jpg?adImageId=4741663&imageId=6666005″ width=”500″ height=”333″ /]
LEPA – Locals sit among the debris on the beach in Lepa. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
[picapp src=”2/b/1/b/83_Magnitude_Earthquake_3295.jpg?adImageId=4743244&imageId=6670025″ width=”500″ height=”333″ /]
LALOMANU – A man looks over the debris on the beach of Lalomanu, Samoa. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
[picapp src=”3/5/8/3/83_Magnitude_Earthquake_1c66.jpg?adImageId=4742081&imageId=6665641″ width=”500″ height=”338″ /]
LALOMANU – A man looks at a book as he stands amongst the devastation in Lalomanu, Samoa.
[picapp src=”f/c/3/3/83_Magnitude_Earthquake_bac2.jpg?adImageId=4742379&imageId=6665652″ width=”500″ height=”333″ /]
Photos: American Samoa After The Tsunami
Posted: October 8, 2009 Filed under: Breaking News, Community, Current, Earthquake Tsunami Samoa/AmSampa 09, Environment, NZPacific, Politics, South Pacific Region, US & Foreign Affairs | Tags: AMERICAN SAMOA, asphalt, assistance, Bestof, building, car, clean up effort american samoa after the tsunami, earthquake, Emergencies And Disasters, following, horizontal, Leone, natural disaster, nz pacific community, nz pacific news, NZPacific, pacific news, photos american samoa clean up effort, photos american samoa tsunami, plane, samoa earthquake, samoa tsunami, side view, Sitting, strength, supplies, tools, topics, Topix, Village, weather 1 CommentAmerican Samoa After the Earthquake and Tsunami Hits
[picapp src=”9/b/9/b/Clean_Up_Continues_0d48.jpg?adImageId=4738219&imageId=6701058″ width=”500″ height=”333″ /] [picapp src=”9/b/8/5/Clean_Up_Continues_0825.jpg?adImageId=4738339&imageId=6701051″ width=”500″ height=”333″ /] [picapp src=”5/f/e/a/Clean_Up_Continues_e693.jpg?adImageId=4738662&imageId=6701054″ width=”500″ height=”333″ /] [picapp src=”7/d/1/7/Clean_Up_Continues_be94.jpg?adImageId=4738761&imageId=6701055″ width=”500″ height=”333″ /] [picapp src=”9/3/6/7/Clean_Up_Continues_7678.jpg?adImageId=4738909&imageId=6701059″ width=”500″ height=”333″ /] [picapp src=”2/6/8/4/Clean_Up_Continues_db4e.jpg?adImageId=4738976&imageId=6700977″ width=”500″ height=”339″ /] [picapp src=”3/a/d/1/Clean_Up_Continues_96c8.jpg?adImageId=4739124&imageId=6700973″ width=”500″ height=”316″ /]
Archives to March 2010 - PEW 
Latest Photos: Earthquake Devastates Haitians; Waiting for Aid (be warned, some pictures may disturb)
Posted: January 15, 2010 | Author: PacificEyeWitness.com | Filed under: Analysis, Breaking News, Business, Community, Current, Opinion & Commentary, Politics, US & Foreign Affairs | Tags: (Carl, (Patrick, 03000000, 03002000, 12, 13, 13015001, 14, 2010, 43, a, adult, aerial, alive, american, Aminise, Amputated, areas, assessment, assistance, attention, bed, Bestof, boarding, body, boy, capital, capital cities, Casualty, center, charity and relief work, city, coffin, Come, Confirmed, Creole, cross, damage, daughter, dead, debris, department, devastates, devastation, dis, disaster, disbelief, doctors, down, Downtown District, earthquake, ecstatic, Eliazar, Emanuela, Emergencies And Disasters, facility, Farrell/Miami, fear, field, fire, general, Geographical Locations, Germain, gets, girl, Gladys, greeted, group, Haiti, Haiti's, Haitian, HAITIEARTHQUAKE, Headshot, help, Herald/MCT), hold, home, hope, horizontal, hospital, hotel, hours, HTI, human body, human toe, hundreds, injured, injuries, inside, january, jeune, joseph, Juste/Miami, krt2010, krtcaribbean caribbean, krtdisaster disaster, krtedonly, krtquake earthquake quake, krtworld world, lap, large, left, leg, lie, Loiuis, looks, magnitude7, makeshift, male, man, mct, medical, men, missing, mission, Mother's, mourn, Nearly, news, NGO, occupation, officials, outside, People, perished, Physical Injury, placing, Port-au-Prince, PortauPrince, pulled, quake, React, recovering, red, remains, reports, Resourceful, rest, Roselyn, rubble, ruined, school, seek, seen, shelter, street, surrounding, Tag, Thousands, thursday, topics, Topix, town, transport, tries, turns, underneath, UPI/American, victim, villa, waiting, water, woman, women, young | 2 Comments[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7542868″ src=”f/e/6/a/Major_Earthquake_Devastates_b159.jpg?adImageId=9000764&imageId=7542868″ width=”500″ height=”343″ /]
PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI: A women tends to an injured relative at a small clinic after she was caught in the massive earthquake on January 14, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Planeloads of rescuers and relief supplies headed to Haiti as governments and aid agencies launched a massive relief operation after a powerful earthquake killing possibly thousands. Numerous buildings were reduced to rubble by the 7.3-strong quake on January 12. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
[tweetmeme]In a country that has been totally dependent on the United Nations and the Red Cross even before the earthquake, the biggest blow to a swift humanitarian response in Haiti is the United Nations Mission has suffered a major blow with more than 150 staff still missing, presumed buried under rubble.The UN Haiti mission has about 1700 staff including 1200 Haitians. Among those reportedly still missing in Haiti is the head of the UN mission.
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7531891″ src=”f/1/1/7/Major_Earthquake_Hits_477d.jpg?adImageId=8998163&imageId=7531891″ width=”500″ height=”332″ /]
PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI – JANUARY 13: A man holds a severely injured woman, while waiting for assistance in the town of Canape Vert January 13, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Planeloads of rescuers and relief supplies headed to Haiti as governments and aid agencies launched a massive relief operation after a powerful earthquake that may have killed thousands. (Photo by Frederic Dupoux/Getty Images).
US President Barack Obama ordered a swift and aggressive US rescue effort, while the European Union activated its crisis systems and the Red Cross and United Nations unlocked emergency funds and supplies for the destitute nation. Much of Port-au-Prince was reduced to rubble by the 7.0-strong quake on January 12 but the airport was operational, opening the way for international relief aid to be ferried in by air as well as by sea.
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7531893″ src=”3/6/a/1/Major_Earthquake_Hits_4f40.jpg?adImageId=8998985&imageId=7531893″ width=”500″ height=”332″ /]
BBC World Service’s Andy Gallagher reported this morning that there isn’t really any sense or signs of any kind of organised international aid relief, or search and rescue, in earthquake-stricken Haiti.
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7542535″ src=”5/1/9/7/Magnitude7_earthquake_devastates_0018.JPG?adImageId=8999375&imageId=7542535″ width=”500″ height=”332″ /]
Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince is seen from an aerial assessment mission by the American Red Cross.
BBC’s Gallagher, as he walked the rubble-strewn streets of Haiti:
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7543456″ src=”1/2/b/0/Major_Earthquake_Devastates_c864.jpg?adImageId=8999487&imageId=7543456″ width=”500″ height=”332″ /]
People walk in the streets after the earthquake.
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7531612″ src=”5/4/d/c/Major_Earthquake_Devastates_2ab3.jpg?adImageId=8998999&imageId=7531612″ width=”500″ height=”333″ /]
An injured women is seen at a makeshift field hospital in Port-au-Prince
Queried about reported problems getting aid into the international airport at Haiti, Gallagher said:
On The Ground in Haiti BBC World Service: interviews with people on the streets, aid worker, Hillary Clinton, international aid experts
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7543455″ src=”1/1/a/c/Major_Earthquake_Devastates_c8e3.jpg?adImageId=8999508&imageId=7543455″ width=”500″ height=”332″ /]
People wait in line for water from the fire department after the earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7531956″ src=”7/b/a/0/Major_Earthquake_Hits_bc20.jpg?adImageId=8998554&imageId=7531956″ width=”500″ height=”332″ /]
A casualty is identified with a makeshift toe tag on January 13, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Photo by Frederic Dupoux/Getty Images).
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7531892″ src=”f/5/c/e/Major_Earthquake_Hits_93a6.jpg?adImageId=8998611&imageId=7531892″ width=”500″ height=”332″ /]
A car remains parked outside the ruins of a cafe January 13, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7543416″ src=”0/0/5/5/HAITIEARTHQUAKE_068c.JPG?adImageId=8999561&imageId=7543416″ width=”500″ height=”345″ /]
Outside the Villa Creole Hotel in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, January 14, 2010, the injured from surrounding areas have come for shelter and medical attention by a medical NGO, Hope for Haiti. (Carl Juste/Miami Herald/MCT)
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7543413″ src=”d/5/3/e/HAITIEARTHQUAKE_d5e0.JPG?adImageId=8999577&imageId=7543413″ width=”500″ height=”661″ /]
Haitian men transport a male earthquake victim after recovering him underneath debris in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Carl Juste/Miami Herald/MCT)
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7543410″ src=”6/a/4/7/HAITIEARTHQUAKE_3d26.JPG?adImageId=8999593&imageId=7543410″ width=”500″ height=”372″ /]
Haitian men transport a male earthquake victim after recovering him underneath debris in Port-au-Prince. (Carl Juste/Miami Herald/MCT)
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7543408″ src=”1/1/9/7/HAITIEARTHQUAKE_c324.JPG?adImageId=8999604&imageId=7543408″ width=”500″ height=”401″ /]
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7543407″ src=”8/6/5/5/HAITIEARTHQUAKE_ccd3.JPG?adImageId=8999607&imageId=7543407″ width=”500″ height=”369″ /]
Roselyn Joseph, left, gets help in placing the body of her daughter, Emanuela Aminise, 14, inside a coffin, in Port-au-Prince.(Carl Juste/Miami Herald/MCT).
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7543404″ src=”2/c/5/1/HAITIEARTHQUAKE_ee0b.JPG?adImageId=8999614&imageId=7543404″ width=”500″ height=”361″ /]
A group of women mourn and react is disbelief as the body of the daughter of the woman in the center turns missing in Port-au-Prince.(Carl Juste/Miami Herald/MCT).
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7543403″ src=”d/9/4/4/HAITIEARTHQUAKE_88c6.JPG?adImageId=8999718&imageId=7543403″ width=”500″ height=”390″ /]
A woman whose leg was amputated tries to lie down on a make-shift bed inside the Eliazar Germain General Hospital where the injured seek medical help, but the medical facility has no doctors in Port-au-Prince. (Carl Juste/Miami Herald/MCT).
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7543396″ src=”1/2/c/7/HAITIEARTHQUAKE_1b17.JPG?adImageId=8999774&imageId=7543396″ width=”500″ height=”387″ /]
A man looks at the body of a dead man outside the Villa Creole Hotel in Port-au-Prince.
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7543324″ src=”5/9/2/f/HAITIEARTHQUAKE_04bd.JPG?adImageId=8999900&imageId=7543324″ width=”500″ height=”399″ /]
A young girl gets medical attention for her injuries outside the Villa Creole Hotel in Port-au-Prince.
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7543323″ src=”e/f/3/7/HAITIEARTHQUAKE_83df.JPG?adImageId=8999987&imageId=7543323″ width=”500″ height=”330″ /]
A young boy tries to rest on his mother’s lap outside the Villa Creole Hotel
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7543316″ src=”5/5/5/c/HAITIEARTHQUAKE_b290.JPG?adImageId=9000123&imageId=7543316″ width=”500″ height=”481″ /]
Gladys Loiuis Jeune is pulled alive from the rubble of her home after nearly 43 hours where she was greeted by her ecstatic daughter in Port-au-Prince. (Patrick Farrell/Miami Herald/MCT)
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7543313″ src=”3/3/f/2/HAITIEARTHQUAKE_daa7.JPG?adImageId=9000307&imageId=7543313″ width=”500″ height=”320″ /]
A woman reaches joyously to Gladys Louis Jeune.
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7542893″ src=”3/3/2/d/Major_Earthquake_Devastates_f025.jpg?adImageId=9000749&imageId=7542893″ width=”500″ height=”333″ /]
The body of a person is trapped in the rubble of a home destroyed by the massive earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7542694″ src=”9/5/d/6/Major_Earthquake_Devastates_62db.jpg?adImageId=9000763&imageId=7542694″ width=”500″ height=”333″ /]
A man carrying a coffin through the streets. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7542850″ src=”3/d/b/b/Major_Earthquake_Devastates_1817.jpg?adImageId=9000786&imageId=7542850″ width=”396″ height=”594″ /]
People look on as others search for survivors under a church in Port-au-Prince.(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7542849″ src=”4/2/7/f/Major_Earthquake_Devastates_3c38.jpg?adImageId=9000820&imageId=7542849″ width=”500″ height=”333″ /]
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7542837″ src=”b/b/9/5/Major_Earthquake_Devastates_d71e.jpg?adImageId=9000950&imageId=7542837″ width=”500″ height=”333″ /]
Christopher Holmes from the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue searches for survivors in the rubble of a building in Port-au-Prince on 14th January.
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7542686″ src=”0/b/b/c/Major_Earthquake_Devastates_3a69.jpg?adImageId=9001080&imageId=7542686″ width=”500″ height=”338″ /]
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=haiti+earthquake&iid=7534582″ src=”1/1/3/c/Major_Earthquake_Devastates_3a33.jpg?adImageId=9001112&imageId=7534582″ width=”500″ height=”332″ /]
A corpse is carried on a stretcher down a street.