Aftershock rattles Haiti, fears of violence ease

People sit with their belongings on the Place St. Pierre, in Port-au-Prince's Petionville suburb Wednesday, more than a week after an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale hit the Haitian capital. Photo: AFP

A new earthquake shook the devastated Haitian capital Wednesday morning, causing panic among survivors of last week's devastating quake camped out in the streets but apparently causing no new destruction.

The powerful 6.1 magnitude aftershock at daybreak sent shrieking Haitians running from buildings in the shattered city, fearing a repeat of the magnitude-7 earthquake that killed tens of thousands of people eight days ago.

"It felt really strong. Each aftershock is frightening. We feel it right here (pointing at his stomach), because after last Tuesday you never know how strong it is going to be," said Lenis Batiste, camped out on some grass with two children.

The US Geological Survey said Wednesday's tremor was centered 35 miles west-south-west of Port-au-Prince.

Desperate and hungry residents of Port-au-Prince have been sleeping outdoors since the storyJanuary 12 earthquake because their homes were destroyed, or from fear of aftershocks.

"Things started shaking. We were really afraid. People came out into the street," said Victor Jean Rossiny, a 24-year-old law student living in the street in the Petionville suburb.

Fears of violence and looting have eased in Haiti as US troops provide security for water and food-aid deliveries, and thousands of displaced Haitians have heeded the government's advice to seek shelter outside Port-au-Prince.

Medical care, the handling of corpses, shelter, water, food and sanitation remain the priorities for the international relief operation, UN relief officials said.

US Black Hawk helicopters swooped down on the grounds of Haiti's wrecked presidential palace on Tuesday, deploying troops and supplies and immediately attracting crowds of survivors who clamored for handouts of food.

"Supplies are beginning to get out to the people," US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said during a visit to India, adding that he hoped the presence of US troops would prevent violence.

"There is a concern that if you are unable to get significant supplies out that, in their desperation, people will turn to crime and violence," he said. "We have not seen much of that yet happily, and my hope is that as we get these trucks out on the roads with supplies and people see patrols – that will prevent any significant violence from taking place."

Localized violence

While military escorts are needed to deliver relief, the UN said security prob-lems were mainly in areas considered "high risk" before the disaster. Some 4,000 criminals escaped from prisons damaged by the earthquake.

"The overall security situation in Port-au-Prince remains stable, with limited, localized violence and looting occurring," the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

Around 12,000 US military personnel are on the ground in Haiti, on ships offshore or en route, including aboard the USNS Comfort hospital ship, which was to arrive in the area Wednesday, pro-viding essential capacity for complex surgeries.

At least one Latin American leader, Venezuela's socialist President Hugo Chavez, a fiery critic of what he calls US "imperialism," has already accused Washington of "occupying" Haiti under the pretext of an aid operation.

Haitian President Rene Preval has said US troops will help UN peacekeepers maintain order in Port-au-Prince.

Haitian officials say the death toll from the quake was likely to be between 100,000 and 200,000, and that 75,000 bodies had already been buried in mass graves.

So far, feared infectious diseases have not erupted, although many injured faced the immediate threats of tetanus and gangrene, and hospitals were overwhelmed.

The World Health Organization said at least 13 hospitals were working in the Port-au-Prince area and it was bringing in medical supplies to treat 120,000 people over the next month.

(Agencies)

Sulamérica Trânsito

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