Deep Thoughts

I have been glued to my computer screen and CNN.com for three days now. Since I heard about the tragedy that has hit Haiti, I have been searching fro whatever information I can. The first news was that a 7.0 had hit Haiti. Then photos started flooding in of the devastation that occurred. Thousands of buildings were simply flattened. The aftershocks caused even more damage. Hospitals were destroyed and the patients inside lost forever.

I don't know anyone in Haiti, or anyone from Haiti, or anyone who has ever even been to Haiti.Still, I am so deeply moved by the tragedy that has hit this small and impoverished nation. I want to help, to rush out and DO something but I am pretty much helpless. Haiti is so far from here and there is nothing I can do. I have no money to give or any valuable skills to offer. All I can do right now is offer up my prayers for the living that they can find whatever comfort and peace is available. I also pray for the thousands dead and the hundreds of thousands that are injured.

From what I have seen from the photos and videos that are streaming from the reporters and civilians there, the devastation is complete. The buildings that most citizens lived in were small concrete huts with almost no reinforcement. Even the larger, multistory buildings were not built to a code that would have minimized or even reduced the damage from earthquake damage. The entire country is too poor to have building codes or enforce them if they did. Entire neighborhoods are flattened and after 48 there are still so many trapped under the rubble that what few authorities there are have no idea what the casualty count might be.

Right now, the damage is so extensive that the supplies and personnel are not able to get to those in need. Those that have survived are without food, water, or medication to stay alive. There are some officials that are worried that the number of casualties after the earthquake cold top the number of the dead under the rubble.

How does this sort of thing happen? I know that earthquakes can not be predicted with 100% accuracy. I understand that the scientists have been warning the people of Haiti that an earthquake was imminent. That doesn't do much good for a country so impoverished that most of the country lives in huts and shacks.

I still feel helpless but mostly I feel sadness. I am praying tonight for a fast response to this tragedy and that the help that is on the way can get to those that need it most.