LA County Fire Department search and rescue dogs and their firefighter handlers pose for one last picture at the LA County FD warehouse facility in Pacoima, Ca before boarding buses for the trip to March Air Force Base and then on to Haiti to help in the rescue of hundreds still trapped. The dogs are specially trained to locate victims buried in rubble. They are part of the LA County Task Force 2, Urban Search and Rescue Team who, along with counterparts in Fairfax, Va, are the first called to respond to any disaster worldwide.
Hunter, a very highly trained Border Collie, waits for his firefighter handler so they can board a bus for the trip to March Air Force Base and then on the Haiti. Hunter is part of LA County FD Task Force 2, Urban Search and Rescue Team. This team and another in Fairfax, Va are deployed to anywhere in the world when disaster strikes...
Portlight.org, the disaster-relief charity that has sprung up from the hard work and dedication of many members of the wunderground.com community, has successfully shipped medical equipment and a water filtration unit capable of supplying the needs of 3,800 people per day to the Dominican Republic, where it will be trucked to Haiti via road. Portlight is working through the local Catholic Church, which is probably best positioned to deliver private aid donations to those in need. Paul Timmons, leader of the Portlight relief efforts, wrote this to me today:
Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 — Blog Index
thanks! and I replied
There all connected through faults. Its kind of crazy to say since Haiti had a quake, island near or surround Haiti will also have a quake. Wish it was that simple, plates are in constant motion and were they stick together or slip you'll see earth quake activity. Saying this is a sign the big one is coming, not buying that theory, if you live near or on top of a fault its just a matter of time before some kind of activity occurs.
Looks like I'm going to be busting out the pump for the backyard again next week...last time we had rain, it completely flooded out and was almost in the house.
It's my understanding that the port was heavily damaged and hard to get supplies/people in and out, much like the airport.
I'm really starting to wonder if the "big one" is about to happen.
Lat: 40.43 Lon: -86.93 Elev: 623
Last Update on Jan 15, 12:54 pm EST
Overcast
36 °F
(2 °C)
Humidity: 82 %
Wind Speed: W 7 MPH
Barometer: 30.29" (1026.0 mb)
Dewpoint: 31 °F (-1 °C)
Wind Chill: 30 °F (-1 °C)
Visibility: 10.00 mi.
thank you!
what part of Michigan are you from?
Mel, the Comfort doesn't need to unload, does it? I think it's a fully-functioning, self-contained hospital. Guess they'll have to drop anchor off shore, though, and use cutters(?) to bring patients to and from. Bet StormW knows more about how this works, or Orca...oh, forgot, the Canadian CG'er is on VACATION...how dare he...
Probably still lots of pressure releasing from the faults and 7.0 magnitude can cause pressure on other faults around the epic center area. Youll see other quakes for a little while until it evens the pressures out.
. DYNAMICS ALONG AND JUST AHEAD OF THE FRONT
CONTINUE TO LOOK UNIMPRESSIVE...MOST LIKELY DUE THE ANTICIPATION
OF CLOUD COVER LIMITING DAY TIME HEATING OVER THE AREA.
THEREFORE...WILL MAINTAIN ONLY A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ON
SAT EVENING/SUN MORNING.
AIM gave me a "heads up." I live in SW Mich. about 25 miles ESE of Benton Harbor/St. Joe, 45 miles SW of Kalamazoo. Let me know what you are planning and I'll see what I can do to help.
UCT 1 will deploy Jan. 15 from Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek/Fort Story. Their mission will be to inspect waterfront facilities such as piers and docks as part of efforts to help get relief supplies into the earthquake-ravaged nation. They will deploy along with other Navy divers from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2 and Naval Sea Systems Command, and engineers from Naval Facilities Engineering Command.
Bataan Amphibious Relief Force Departs, Sails Toward Haiti
Bataan's medical capabilities are second only to U.S. Navy hospital ships and include nearly 50 medical professionals as well as X-ray facilities, a 600-bed hospital, operating rooms, an intensive care unit, pharmacy and laboratory.
southeastern. to any non Michiganders,(and yes, that is the proper term) the only city in our beloved mitten is Detroit. so for all of y'all, a little bit north of Detroit...
oh ok, I went to Ann Arbor and Port Huron back in October
Impassable roads, a damaged airport and an unreachable dock are slowing aid from reaching devastated Haitians.
Link
happy birthday to you patrap
And this is a VERY good thing. Take a look at this GOM L on the GOES 12 Satellite in post #90 :0)
We lived in Chesterfield TWP, halfway between Detroit and Port Huron from 1978 to 2005. I get back there quite often.
I think everyone should ignore Pat, and he would probably stop making outrageous statements. I think he does it for the publicity.
And I don't mean Patrap!
We could use the rain around here. I'm hoping it will help with the sinkhole problem.
Here is what the Coast Guard has done in the last couple of days
Coast Guard EC off to Haiti
From staff reports
Friday, January 15, 2010
Coast Guard officers from Elizabeth City were among nearly 30 first responders to fly to Haiti Thursday to help those affected by Tuesday’s devastating earthquake.
Among them, Petty Officer 2nd Class Kyle Kappessar and Petty Officer 3rd Class Chris Smith secured first responder gear aboard a C-130 fixed-wing aircraft from Air Station Elizabeth City at Homestead Air Reserve Base in Florida.
The aircraft took nearly 30 first responders to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Thursday.
Also, Lt. Steve Talick, co-pilot of a C-130 Hercules airplane from Air Station Elizabeth City, departed Thursday for Port-au-Prince, fully loaded with first responders and equipment.
The Homeland Security Task Force-Southeast was activated in the Coast Guard’s 7th District, based in Miami, and is responsible for supporting U.S. Agency for International Development relief efforts in Haiti, under the direction of Rear Adm. Robert Branham.
The Coast Guard reported Thursday that C-130s and HH-60 helicopters evacuated 142 citizens from Haiti to the Dominican Republic, and med-evaced seven U.S. citizens to Florida. About 50 more U.S. citizens were scheduled to depart Haiti aboard Coast Guard aircraft Thursday.
Coast Guard cutters Tahoma and Valiant arrived in Haitian waters Thursday, loaded with relief supplies for earthquake supplies.
On Wednesday, the day after the quake, the Coast Guard medevaced and evacuated 109 U.S. citizens.
In addition, the Coast Guard transported a Disaster Assistance Response Team to Port-au-Prince, and a Coast Guard C-144 Ocean Sentry fixed-wing aircraft that provided first-light aerial assessments.
Among the Coast Guard assets that continue providing support to Haiti are:
• The Coast Guard Cutter Valiant, a 210-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Miami, Fla.
• The Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk, a 270-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Key West, Fla.
• The Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma, a 270-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Portsmouth, N.H.
• The Coast Guard Cutter Forward, a 270-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Portsmouth, Va.
• U.S. Coast Guard C-130, HU-25 and C-144 fixed-wing aircraft and HH-60 and HH-65 helicopters from throughout the Coast Guard are deployed throughout the Caribbean region in support of the USAID relief
Re other topic:
A 24-hr. miss is well, not great but a great improvement from '05.
Area is very dry the plants and grass need this too.
Things will only stabilize from here once the word passes that a Marine Expeditionary Unit is coming ashore as well.
2000 Trained helping Hands will make a difference.
Yes, according to CNN, the USS Carl Vinson has arrived!
omg you ordered Urge?????
I don't know why there aren't hospital ships being brought in
It's my understanding that the port was heavily damaged and hard to get supplies/people in and out, much like the airport.
Exactly; the port facilities at Port Au Prince were heavliy damaged and the cannot take in any shipping. The port facilities at Goinaives and Cap-Haitien while much smaller are still operational and I would suppose that some shipping will be sent in through them
;) a friend of mine ordered some for me, I dont know if he wants me to say his name or not, so for now I wont :P
If you have a Twitter account, please follow PortlightRelief, and retweet us as much as possible. We'll be a lot more active over the weekend, for sure, and it really helps to get the word out!
Thanks to each and every one of you for all you do!!
Is Portlight on Facebook?
Gates, Mullen Cite Aid Streaming into Haiti
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 15, 2010 – All Defense Department resources in the Western Hemisphere are available for assisting Haiti, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today.
Gates and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefed reporters on the situation in Haiti.
Some 1,000 U.S. servicemembers are on the ground in Haiti today, with more on the way. “The key is to get the food and the water in there as quickly as possible so that people don’t – in their desperation – turn to violence or lead to the security situation deteriorating,” the secretary said. “But at this point, other than some scavenging and minor looting, our understanding is the security situation is pretty good.”
This is a whole-of-government effort by the United States and also is an international effort, Gates said. U.S. soldiers and Marines will aid the 7,000-member United Nations force and about 2,000 police In providing security.
“We are clearly in a position to do more than others, partly by our proximity and partly by our capabilities,” Gates said. The key is coordinating the entire effort, he told reporters, and he said the coordination among the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Homeland Security Department, the Coast Guard and the Defense Department “has proceeded very well.”
By the end of the weekend, 9,000 to 10,000 American servicemembers will in Haiti or afloat offshore. Red Cross officials said the death toll from Jan. 12’s magnitude 7 earthquake could reach 50,000.
“Shortly after the devastating earthquake, [the Defense Department] mobilized to save lives and ease the suffering of the victims,” Gates said.
Army and naval forces, disaster-response teams, portable hospitals, K-9 search-and-rescue teams and relief and medical supplies are streaming in from many nations, Mullen said.
“In this situation, the military is best able to supply security, search-and-rescue capabilities, potable water and medical facilities,” the chairman said. The Navy’s USS Higgins has joined Coast Guard cutters off Haiti to provide support.
“This morning, the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson arrived outfitted with 19 helicopters, 51 hospital beds, three operating rooms, hundreds of thousands of gallons of water per day production capability and a significant capacity to deliver disaster-relief supplies,” Mullen said. “A company from the 82nd Airborne Division is on the ground to provide security and also distribution to meet those needs.” The rest of the division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team will arrive over the weekend.
The USS Normandy and the USS Underwood also will arrive shortly, followed by the USS Bataan, USS Fort McHenry and USS Carter Hall carrying the Marines of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit.
The hospital ship USNS Comfort -- with hundreds of medical personnel, medical capabilities and medical supplies -- will arrive off the coast by the end of next week, Mullen said.
These ships, aircraft and troops “also deliver hope, although it seems that supplies and security cannot come quickly enough,” the chairman said.
Gates said he’s not worried that the aid effort will be seen as a threat or as a U.S. power grab. “Given the role that we will have in delivering food, water and medical help to people, my guess is the reaction will be one of relief at seeing Americans delivering this kind of help,” he said.
The United States also is only one of many countries sending aid and personnel to Haiti. Brazil, for example, has many personnel in Haiti and is sending a large amount of aid, he noted.
A hospital ship is being sent to Haiti. They are self contained and need not dock, but can anchor out or just cruise around. The patents will be brought to the Hospital ships by helo.
More power to him....
Viewing: 101 - 151
Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 — Blog Index