Haiti survivors face a lack of clean water
The chances of finding more survivors of the devastating earthquake in Haiti is now slim and rescue workers are turning their attentions to keeping those they have already found alive. Supplies of fresh drinking water have now become the number one challenge. Although some bottled water is on its way and desalination equipment is beginning to produce purified water there is still the logistical problem of getting that water onto the streets. Many people are currently being forced to buy fresh water at vastly inflated prices. As well as a shortage of water the race is on to bury the nation’s dead. Paul Antoine Bien-Aime, Haiti’s interior minister said that they have already managed to bury around 20,000 bodies. He went on to say that he predicted the final death toll to be somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 but that an exact figure will never be known.
Alain Le Roy, the U.N.’s peace keeping chief says that the situation is deteriorating with people starting to fight for food and loot supplies. A lack of coordination and the apparent slow pace at which rescue efforts have been rolled out on Haiti has angered many. The country’s president, Rene Preval said that it was important for people to stay calm and refrain from throwing accusations at each other. Earlier a French minister said that it was unacceptable that the U.S. coordination on the ground had decided to turn two French planes away because the airport was over crowded. President Obama has promised that sustained relief efforts are on their way to Haiti and Washington has said that it will speed up these efforts.
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