M7.2 magnitude earthquake hits Haiti; at least 304 killed

As if Haiti doesn’t have enough problems already. Poor devils.

gods help the suffering people of Haiti.

My thoughts are with the people of Haiti.

As if the earthquake wasn’t enough, they have a tropical storm bearing down too. Wishing them safely.

Same magnitude as the main Kumamoto shock (which was preceded by a 6.4 foreshock), and quakes continued for a month afterward. At 7.2, standing is not particularly easy, and moving dangerous: stay in one place and get under something until the shaking is over, then evacuate. Of course, that advice is for Japan, where the danger that the entire building will come down on you is slim.

I hope the Clintons get together again and help these people out like they did the last time..

Speed is of the essence.

englisc aspyrgendToday  07:31 am JST

As if Haiti doesn’t have enough problems already. Poor devils.

They had such a bad quake in 2010 that disrupted everything there and they still haven't really recovered from that. And last month yet another one of their dirtbag dictators gets offed, plunging Haiti into civil strife.

And now this. It's even stronger than the last one. And a tropical storm is set to hit Haiti later next week.

Daaaaa-aaaaaaaaaammmmmnnnnn!!!! I feel sorry for this land and its people. God Help The Haitian People. I know some UNICEF officials are already there. May God help them all thru this.

Naomi Osaka just tweeted that she is going to donate her prize money from her next tournament to the relief efforts. For all the controversy surrounding her, that is laudable and I hope she wins the whole thing.

I'll tell you a story about Japan and charity.

A couple of years after I got to Japan, the earthquake hit in the Indian Ocean - the Sumatra quake.

I was an ALT at the time, and when I got in that day, it was explained to me (my Japanese was still pretty rudimentary back then) that the teachers were collecting donations for the relief efforts - entirely voluntary of course.

At the time I only had a 5000 yen note and some loose change on me. 5000 yen's not much by any stretch of the imagination, even for an ALT, and loose change would be an insult, so I dropped the note into the envelope. The reaction was as if Bill Gates had just paid off the entire national debt of another country.

If you want to turn a gesture of help into a political issue, you're welcome too. And I'm usually pretty cynical about these things, but in this case I can't see a reason to analyse it to death.

I pray for the people of Haiti.

Hope Haiti get's adequate assistance.Numbers will definitely climb.They should use lighter material for construction IMHO.

Naomi Osaka just tweeted that she is going to donate her prize money from her next tournament to the relief efforts. For all the controversy surrounding her, that is laudable and I hope she wins the whole thing.

I agree, it would help, but that country just has the absolute worst luck. They were still recovering from the last great quake and then recently their President was assassinated, you just have to feel for these people. Glad to see her do this. Hope other mega, super-rich people will help out.

Sad for Haitians , indeed. Still not recovered from the 2010 quake, despite billions donated in aid. Poorly managed aid programs , very little aid reached the people. There are many stories on the web about this mismanaged fiasco.

Hope that things will be better this time.

I hope the Clintons get together again and help these people out like they did the last time..

Speed is of the essence.

The last thing Hatians need is for the Clintons to get involved...

https://www.pambazuka.org/global-south/how-clinton-foundation-got-rich-poor-haitians

These Haitian people are in pain NOW. These Haitian people need help NOW. Hot, humid, no fresh water, . . . - Conspicuous ‘promises & pledges’ of donations from ‘possible yet not guaranteed’ future winnings could be perceived as somewhat ‘disingenuous’ ?? Why mention it ??

Naomi Osaka just tweeted that she is going to donate her prize money from her next tournament to the relief efforts. For all the controversy surrounding her, that is laudable and I hope she wins the whole thing.

Kind of a hedged donation...she should just announce a donation, win or lose, right away. The amount obviously depends on which round she gets to, and what if she withdraws before she plays, as she is known to do?

Twitter makes her gesture a good optic, but it'd sure help more if she just appeared in Haiti, and donated while there.

She needs a PR makeover because she has a lot of detractors due to her flaws of me actions, and that causes many to believe her to be disingenuous.

Haitians' sufferings after the earthquake has been badly compounded by political chaos & virus attack. Yet pouring rains are coming.

All these after the huge devastation of strong quake killing 300,000 not that long ago..

What I am about to say may not be liked but.

Haiti has been a basket case for centuries, natural disasters on top of extreme corruption.

And this will not help.

I have known many Haitians as I went to school with many and they can be some of the nicest people you have ever met.

Many of those I went to school with said the only way to fix Haiti would be to evacuate most of the population to countries where they can live normal lives, and then rebuild the country with a controled democracy under strict supervision by western powers, sounds harsh but I have watched this place go from bad to worse for over 40 years when the first wave of refugees arrived in my country.

In Haiti it is one step forward two steps back constantly and natural disasters just make it worse.

Haiti is the darkest example in the Western Hemisphere of what European colonialism did to its subjects. France looted the place and then left it to rot.

The scumbag dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier ("Baby Doc") was flown out of Haiti on a U.S. Air Force plane in 1986 and enjoyed a 25-year luxury exile in France.

It's on you, France. You created the mess.

"French economist Thomas Piketty acknowledged that France should repay at least US$28 billion to Haiti in restitution."

https://theconversation.com/when-france-extorted-haiti-the-greatest-heist-in-history-137949

Stefan DrapeaufauxToday  09:26 am JST

Naomi Osaka just tweeted that she is going to donate her prize money from her next tournament to the relief efforts. For all the controversy surrounding her, that is laudable and I hope she wins the whole thing.

Me too. The more she wins and donates, the better.

plasticmonkeyToday  06:51 pm JST

Haiti is the darkest example in the Western Hemisphere of what European colonialism did to its subjects. France looted the place and then left it to rot.

The scumbag dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier ("Baby Doc") was flown out of Haiti on a U.S. Air Force plane in 1986 and enjoyed a 25-year luxury exile in France.

I remember all that. He sought refuge first in western Africa but Ghana said, 'We are not a garbage can'. LOL. Then France took his sorry ass and his haughty wife left him because the stipends France gave them wasn't enough.

Years after the 2010 quake Baby Doc decides to return to Haiti 'to guide my children' and he got arrested upon by whoever the authorities were at the time (Haitians, UN peacekeepers, US Marines?). The tinpot snot was awaiting trial when he died in prison in his own land that he ruined himself. Scumbag!

There has been a UN Mission in Haiti since 2004 but seems to have accomplished little in terms of development or democracy. Reforming Haiti seems as futile as trying to push a wet noodle.