On January 12, 2010 at approximately 1730 hours a magnitude 7 earthquake struck the Republic of Haiti. Already affected by several hurricanes in 2009 and mudslides in 2008, Haiti has suffered widespread devastation. In the capital of Port-au-Prince news media report thousands buildings had collapsed. Thousands of peope are dead and missing, and massive devastation of infrastructure, loss of power, and bodies in the streets has occurred.
EPA Region II has a relationship to Haiti through the Caribbean Regional Response Team (CRRT) and the US Coast Guard. Of particular concern are oil storage and transfer facilities that are located at coastal areas. The Regional Emergency Operations Center (REOC) has contacted the CRRT members, including USCG District 7-Miami and FEMA, and offer assistance.
Subsequently EPA Region II deployed an On-Scene Coordinator and a member of the Edison Environmental Response Team (ERT) to Haiti to assist SOUTHCOM/USAID/DOS/ACE in environmental assessments and other environmental activities.
