US Coast Guard helping with search and rescue in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (NewsNation Now) — Nearly one week after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake shook southwestern Haiti survivors are still arriving by U.S. Coast Guard helicopter to the Port-au-Prince airport one after another.
Stacey House of Project MediShare says they’re seeing a lot of broken bones, head injuries, open wounds. She has no idea how many people are still in need.
The survivors, many trapped under the rubble for days, are flown from the remote southern part of the country to the capital for treatment.
The earthquake injured more than 12,000 people, destroyed or damaged more than 100,000 homes and left about 30,000 families homeless, officials said. Schools, offices and churches — and even funeral homes and cemeteries — were demolished or badly damaged.
NewsNation flew to Haiti on a U.S. Coast Guard c-130. The planes are making trips back and forth from Florida with supplies and fresh crews to continue the helicopter evacuations.
Rear Adm. Brendan McPherson explained the mission and the unique challenges right now in Haiti.
“Our focus is really on getting to the injured people and we have been doing that since last Sunday. Within 24 hours we had ships offshore providing critical assistance. So that is our focus right now,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.