Everyday existence for most people in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, is always tenuous, but it became especially difficult Tuesday evening after the Caribbean nation was struck by a powerful earthquake. The initial magnitude-7 tremblor was followed by several potent aftershocks. The resultant loss of life -- tens or perhaps hundreds of thousands may have perished -- and property damage are immense. Providing relief is beyond the ability of Haiti's government, which is barely able to sustain basic services in normal times.
The earthquake was centered a few miles offshore of Port-au-Prince, the nation's capital. The resulting damage covers a wide area and directly affects an estimated 3 million of Haiti's 9 million people. Most will require extensive aid. Efforts to provide it must begin promptly if civic and social order is to be maintained in an area where so many public and private buildings have been destroyed or damaged, and where infrastructure is in tatters.
Delivering aid won't be easy. The United Nations and the United States, for example, usually are among the first to provide on-the-ground assistance in natural disasters. Wednesday, though, officials from both were hard-pressed to do so. They were busy helping their own. U.S. embassy officials were trying to determine the fate of the tens of thousands of Americans in the country even as they dealt with injuries to staff members. The U.N. reported the deaths of several employees and military peacekeepers.
Even so, the United Nations, the United States and other nations and agencies promptly volunteered assistance. Every bit will be needed. Haiti has few of the resources needed to help its own.
The immediate tasks are to find and bury the dead, to rescue those trapped in rubble, to provide food, water, shelter and medical care to the displaced, and to prevent the spread of infectious diseases that were barely controlled in Haiti before the quake. The situation is grim.
One observer said, "Everybody is just totally, totally freaked out and shaken." Given that, it is apparent that long-term help will be needed, too. Planning for it must wait until the current situation is stabilized.
Tuesday's earthquake is a reminder the such events can occur at any time and in almost any place. Recent small quakes in Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia are reminders of our vulnerability. Local, state and federal governments can't predict or prevent quakes, of course, but they can update emergency response plans and enact new building codes in areas near or on fault lines. Those steps surely would save lives and limit damage if a quake occurred.
Haiti, a poor country with few resources, had neither the expertise nor the resources to implement emergency planning or stricter building codes. Consequently, Haiti likely will find it extremely difficult to mitigate the current agony of its people even with the massive assistance promised by nations and agencies around the world.