Earthquake in Haiti (PR)

Editor's note: The content comes from the Department of State.

Earthquake in Haiti

Counselor Mills (Jan. 13): "Our thoughts and prayers are with the Haitian people and the vast international community that is present in Haiti as we are going through what is going to undoubtedly be a very challenging and difficult time. And we are looking forward to being able to provide all the support that we can bring to bear to try and ameliorate the impact of this terrible situation." Full Text»
Secretary Clinton's Jan. 13 Remarks»
Assistant Secretary Crowley's Remarks to the Press»
Secretary Clinton's Jan. 12 Remarks»

The State Department Operations Center has set up the following number for Americans seeking information about family members in Haiti: 1-888-407-4747 (due to heavy volume, some callers may receive a recording). Our embassy is still in the early stages of contacting American Citizens through our Warden Network. Communications are very difficult within Haiti at this time.

Private Offers of Assistance for Haiti Relief Efforts
Anyone wishing to donate or provide assistance in Haiti following the devastating earthquake that struck near Port au Prince on Jan 12, 2010, is asked to contact the Center for International Disaster Information.  The Center, operated under a grant from the United States Agency for International Development's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and initial support from IBM, has become a valuable resource to the public, as well as US government agencies, foreign embassies and international corporations. CIDI has established a dedicated page to coordinate Haiti support at:  http://www.cidi.org/incident/haiti-10a/

You can also text "HAITI" to "90999" and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill. Or you can go online to organizations like the Red Cross and Mercy Corps to make a contribution to the disaster relief efforts.

Ambassador Kenneth H. Merten
Background Notes
Library of Congress Country Study