Yesterday morning at 8:29:09 am EDT, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Haiti. I didn't hear about it until a moment of two after I wrote yesterday's blog. I watched the news unfold and saw the destruction. I saw the hundreds of injured and the hundreds of dead. (More than 700 people are dead as I write this, and that number is likely to rise).
Now I've experienced earthquakes before, including a 6.9 earthquake that severely shook the San Francisco and Monterey Bay regions. One big difference though: preparedness. Haiti has felt quakes before too, but it's hard to be truly prepared with assassination, corruption, poverty, corruption, violence, hurricanes, epidemics, and all sort of disasters hitting you over and over. Things have been tough for Haiti, and yesterday morning they got even tougher.
I really don't know how that tiny island nation continues to endure. Seriously. Can you think of any other place that has gone through so much?
They need help, and not just a quick donation and then goodbye. They need big help and lasting help. They need to be able to dig out and build up and prepare for their future. They need to grow strong and be able to look to the future without worry. Of course we cannot change natural disasters, but we can prepare for them, and Haiti needs to be prepared. According to Reuters, at least 1,800 people are injured and at least 949 homes, seven churches, two hotels and three schools have been completely destroyed. The death toll continues to rise. Haiti needs our help and our prayers.
Tennis star Naomi Osaka says she will donate her winnings from the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake. How wonderful! For the rest of us, an excellent organization that is already helping is Doctors Without Borders. Their website has more information at https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/ The International Red Cross is also a great organization to donate to.
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