According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and other sources:
The geology
– 7.3 magnitude quake at 16:53:09 on January 12th, 2010
– epicentre of quake, 15km from Port-au-Prince, 10km depth
– at least 12 aftershocks between 5.0-5.9 magnitude since
– first earthquake of this magnitude to hit Hispaniola since 1751
The numbers
– RCMP Sergeant Mark Gallagher among dead. Was on UN Peacekeeping mission.
– including Gallagher, four Canadians are confirmed dead
– 13 Canadians injured
– 550 Canadians have been located
– 1415 Canadians are missing
– between 50,000-100,000 Haitians dead
– one third of Haitian population (3 million) affected by quake
– Catastrophic infrastructure damage in Port-au-Prince (satellite image for Google Earth)
The evacuation
– First wave of Canadian wave of evacuees landed in Montreal last night
– CF flights have evacuated 272 Canadians
– Three Canadian flights into Port-au-Prince
Deployed support and facilitation of foreign deployment
– HMCS Athabaskan and HMCS Halifax en route to Haiti. Includes equipment and helicopters.
– Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney has exempted foreign nationals on non-commercial aircraft from obtained temporary visas if they are on their way to provide relief to Haiti
– Canada has been refueling stop for Russian and Chinese aircraft en route to Haiti
– CF operation dubbed HESTIA
Financial Aid
– CIDA Minister Bev Oda has set up Haiti relief fund to match Canadian donations up to $50 million
– Ontario government has contributed $1 million to Haiti earthquake relief
– British Columbian government has contributed $500,000
– CRA warns donors to be informed of charities
– Staff fundraiser to be held on Parliament Hill for Haiti relief effort on January 25th at 6pm. Contact achristiano@summa.ca for details.
Canadian Reporters on the scene with Twitter
– @smithjoanna (TorStar)
– @jorgebarrera (Canwest)
– @Stephen_Maher__ (Chronicle Herald)
– @perreaux (Globe and Mail)
– @althiaraj (Sun Media)
– My twitter list of reporters reporting on the Haiti relief effort (on the ground or en route)