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  For Immediate Release  
January 13, 2010
 
Earthquake in Haiti: Fast, Flexible Resources Needed to Respond
 
How you can help; Inquiring about loved ones in Haiti 

Van Nuys, CA – Wednesday, January 13, 2010

"This disaster has had devastating consequences for countless Haitians, and our hearts go out to the people of Haiti and the hundreds of thousands of Haitian-Americans.

"Our thoughts are also with the peacekeepers and other representatives of the United Nations who have been killed or injured in the quake, and the courageous humanitarian workers and search and rescue teams who are currently working around the clock to find and treat the survivors.

"A catastrophe of this magnitude highlights the importance of having sufficiently fast and flexible resources at the ready to respond in a meaningful and effective way.  I am in touch with the Administration to determine whether legislation is needed to provide additional humanitarian aid or emergency authorities that would improve our ability to save lives and relieve suffering.  President Obama has rightly designated the new USAID Administrator, Rajiv Shah, as our country's Unified Disaster Coordinator.  I will be working closely with Dr. Shah to ensure that especially in these critical first hours and days our country's response will be swift, coordinated and aggressive, just as the President pledged."

How You Can Help:

To contribute to the relief effort for Haiti after the earthquake, either online or by text message, visit www.WhiteHouse.gov

In addition, the Center for International Disaster Information, operated under a grant from the United States Agency for International Development's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, has established a dedicated page to coordinate Haiti support at:  http://www.cidi.org/incident/haiti-10a/.

U.S. Citizens in Haiti

The U.S. Embassy in Port Au Prince has set up a task force at the Embassy which is taking calls as conditions permit.  The Embassy is working to identify U.S. citizens in Haiti who need urgent assistance and to identify sources of emergency help.  People in the U.S. or Canada with information or inquiries about U.S. citizens in Haiti may reach the State Department’s Haiti Task Force at 1-888-407-4747 or 202-647-6225. 

If inquiring about a U.S. citizen in Haiti, please attempt to include their full name; date of birth; citizenship; time, date, and place of last known location; any contact information, such as a cell phone number or hotel/church/office number where the person could be reached; and e-mail address. 

Due to heavy volume, some callers may receive a recording.  U.S. citizens can also contact the Embassy via email at ACSPaP@state.gov.  Within Haiti, U.S. citizens can call the Embassy’s Consular Task Force at 509-2229-8942, 509-2229-8089, 509-2229-8322, or 509-2229-8672.  For updated travel alert information, please visit: http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1134.html.

Non-US citizens in Haiti:

For families concerned with the whereabouts of relatives in Haiti, please visit the website of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) www.icrc.org and the "Looking for a family member" link. 

Haitian Citizens in the U.S.:

Haitian citizens in the U.S. should call the Haitian Embassy in Washington, D.C., 202-332-4090, or the Haitian Consulate in New York City, 305-859-2003.  For the time being, the Department of Homeland Security has suspended removal flights for those ordered deported to Haiti.

Disaster Assistance en Route:

The President made it clear that he expects an aggressive, coordinated effort by the U.S. government.

To make that happen, each agency – the State Department, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Coast Guard, USAID – has worked overnight to ensure that critical resources are positioned to support the response and recovery effort, including efforts to find and assist American citizens in Haiti.

 ·         Two U.S. Coast Guard cutters will be on site within one day. 

 ·         Two C-130 cargo aircraft in Puerto Rico are standing by.

 ·         USAID is beginning to coordinate U.S. assistance to Haiti and has placed Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) Virginia Task Force 1 (VA-TF1) and the California Task Force 2 (CA-TF2) on mobilization status. 

·         Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DARTs) are ready and preparing to travel.

 ·         SOUTHCOM is actively searching for critical assets like helicopters that can be made available.
 
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