The National Palace

It seems that every few years there is a major earthquake somewhere I have lived. Now it is a major one near Port-au-Prince in Haiti.

I hear the hotel where I lived for two years partly fell down. The hospital where one of my brothers was born has collapsed. Schools have crumbled, and even the Palace. I hesitate to think what the slums look like now, given that they were mostly cardboard and aluminum and rotting wood to start with.

Haiti is not a country that can afford a disaster like this. Its infrastructure is almost non-existent. People literally use sewage as drinking water for lack of anything else, and vast areas of the country are hugely deforested. A common part of the diet is “cakes” made of clay and water.

This page has info on where to donate and how to help: Impact Your World – Special Reports from CNN.com.

Update: photos can be found here. And apparently, the UN headquarters (Hotel Christopher) collapsed as well. It’s not clear how damaged Hotel Montana is.

How to donate:  per the White House, text “HAITI” to “90999” to donate $10 to the Red Cross, charged to your cell phone bill.