Staff Member Caught
up in Tragedy Sends Eyewitness Account from
Port au Prince
UPDATE: Port-Au-Prince,
14 January 2010 - Haiti continues to struggle
with the tragic aftermath of the powerful
earthquake that struck on Tuesday. Immediate
priorities include search and rescue, medical
services and supplies, clean water and sanitation,
emergency shelter, food, logistics and telecommunications.
It is expected that
a Flash Appeal, covering a period of six
months, will be launched by the United Nations
and international partners on Friday 15
January. Initial work to understand the
environmental impacts of the earthquake
have already started in Haiti, and once
the situation on the ground permits, UNEP
is ready to take an active role in leading
the cross-cutting issue of environmental
impacts. Based on initial observations the
main environmental impact and associated
impacts on human well-being are expected
to be building waste management.
UNEP's Post-Conflict
and Disaster Management Branch based in
Geneva has extensive experience in post-disaster
recovery and post-disaster waste management.
Following the devastating 7,9 magnitude
earthquake that struck China's western Sichuan
province on 12 May 2008, UNEP sent experts
to China to provide technical assistance.
Through its office in Beijing, UNEP has
continued to provide advice to the Chinese
government on environmental management,
green reconstruction, asbestos laboratories,
contaminated site assessment, and national
guidelines in disaster reduction and emergency
response.
Port au Prince, 13 January
2010 - A UNEP staff member on mission in
Haiti has sent a tragic eyewitness account
through to colleagues in the wake of the
country's worst and most devastating earthquake
since 1770.
Andrew Morton, a programme
manager working on a project aimed at restoring
the forests, freshwaters and other ecosystems
of the Caribbean island, said: "I am
writing this from the main UN compound in
Port au Prince. The quake was a direct hit
on the city. Destroyed buildings are everywhere,
walls collapsed, roads blocked."
"Casualties will
be in the many thousands. UN has also suffered
casualties as a six storey UN building collapsed.
The priority for Wednesday is search and
rescue and preparing to assist the population,"
he added.
Mr. Morton, a veteran
of UNEP's Post Conflict and Disaster Management
Branch, said he planned to stay to assist
in emergency engineering and building and
infrastructure assessment.
In Geneva, the UNEP/Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA) Joint Environment Unit was monitoring
the situation closely and teams are on standby
to assist with the forthcoming recovery
efforts.
The unit has operated
in the aftermath of other earthquake disasters
including in Pakistan, and Peru as well
as the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004.
It has identified and
conveyed potential secondary risks to human
health and the environment in the form of
a Hazard Identification Tool, HIT, a useful
tool for assessments of actual impacts and
potential needs for further assistance,
which lists "big and obvious"
facilities and objects that may pose a risk
in the aftermath of the earthquake. The
list includes indications of the substances
that are expected to be present in these
facilities, as well as the hazard types
associated with these substances and related
estimated impact types.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary
General and UNEP Executive Director, said
today: "We are deeply concerned for
the people of Haiti and our sympathies go
out to those families and communities devastated
by the earthquake as well as to the families
of UN staff members who have died or been
injured."
"The immediate
need is for activities such as search and
rescue and for medical support and basic
provisions. However, UNEP stands ready as
part on an overall UN effort to assist in
areas where the earthquake may have triggered
environmental hazards as a result of for
example infrastructure damaged and the release
of pollution or similar hazards," he
added.
The earthquake, which
comes just over a year after the hurricanes
which hit Haiti in 2008, poses a significant
setback to the strides the country had made
recently to reverse years of environmental
degradation.
Haiti recently signed
a tri-national agreement with Cuba and the
Dominican Republic to develop a Caribbean
Biological Corridor with the assistance
of UNEP and the World Food Programme (WFP).
In addition, UNEP, along with other UN agencies
planned to launch the Haiti Regeneration
Initiative in 2010 comprising of reforestation,
marine environment and renewable energy
projects.
Speaking from UN Headquarters
in New York on Wednesday, UN Secretary General
Ban Ki-moon said: "My heart goes out
to the people of Haiti after this devastating
earthquake. At this time of tragedy, I am
very concerned for the people of Haiti and
also for the many United Nations staff who
serve there. I am receiving initial reports
and following developments closely".
The Joint UNEP/OCHA
Environmental Emergencies Unit will utilize
a Hazard Identification Tool (HIT), to allow
Disaster Assessment and Coordination teams
on the ground to recognize potential secondary
risks to human safety as well as the environment.
The HIT lists the facilities and objects
most likely to pose a risk in the aftermath
of the earthquake, and their probable impacts.
For More Information
Please Contact Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson/Head
of Media
Silja Halle, UNEP Communications Advisor,
Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch
Haiti: Earthquake epicenter and aftershock
map - January 13, 2009
Further Resources
Joint UNEP/OCHA Environmental Emergencies
Unit
UNEP: Disasters and Conflicts
Ban calls for international support in wake
of devastating Haiti quake
