TFHA01: HAITI EARTHQUAKE TASK FORCE SITUATION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 013150 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AEMR ASEC CASC KFLO MARR PREL PINR AMGT HA SUBJECT: TFHA01: HAITI EARTHQUAKE TASK FORCE SITUATION REPORT NO. 69 STATE 00013150 001.2 OF 002 EVACUATIONS/AMERICAN CITIZEN ISSUES -------------- ¶1. (SBU) No evacuation flights departed February 13; 26 American citizen evacuees manifested for the 2000 EST February 13 flight were delayed until February 14. An additional 15 to 20 people at the airport February 13 were requested to return February 14 for processing. A total of 16,493 have been evacuated to date. No potential American evacuees or family members are currently waiting at the Embassy. (TF1/Embassy Port-au-Prince e-mail, TF1/Consular Affairs Conference Call) ¶2. (SBU) Remains of the final missing Lynn University student and seven other American citizens arrived at Dover at 0630 EST February 14. No additional American citizen remains await transport from the Embassy's mortuary. (TF1/Consular Affairs Conference Call) ¶3. (SBU) Embassy Port-au-Prince and the Consular Affairs Bureau are working on a revised travel warning for release when commercial air travel is scheduled to resume February ¶19. (TF1/Consular Affairs Conference Call) HUMANITARIAN UPDATE -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Food distribution occurred at 15 of the 16 fixed sites on February 13; relief agencies distributed food benefitting 208,000 people in Port-au-Prince. Agencies plan distribution for nearly 100,000 people at five sites February 14. Food distribution will begin at Kenscoff on February 15 and Croix-des-Bouquets on February 16. (TF1/USAID SitRep #56) ¶5. (U) Media report foreign and Haitian officials plan to provide each of the 250,000 displaced families in Haiti a plastic tarp by May 1 for temporary shelter. Following this, officials hope to construct transitional shelters with corrugated iron roofs and earthquake-resistant timber or steel frames to last for up to three years. (AP) MEDICAL RESPONSE -------------- ¶6. (SBU) All HHS Disaster Medical Assistance Response Teams (DMATs) funded by USAID/OFDA are scheduled to demobilize February 14. DMATs treated approximately 7,000 patients. (TF1/USAID SitRep #56) ¶7. (SBU) USNS Comfort has completed over 1,000 surgeries since its arrival January 20. It closed the neo-natal ICU February 13. The majority of admissions are now for routine surgical procedures rather than earthquake-related traumas. (TF1/USAID SitRep #56, TF1/SOUTHCOM SitRep) STATE 00013150 002.2 OF 002 SECURITY/INFRASTRUCTURE -------------- ¶8. (SBU) No significant security incidents occurred February 13. Fifty thousand people gathered without incident at the National Palace for the second day of the three-day national mourning period. (TF1/SOUTHCOM SitRep) ¶9. (SBU) USCGC Hamilton interdicted a sailboat 45 nautical miles northeast of Haiti with 88 Haitian migrants aboard. The Coast Guard will repatriate the migrants to Cap Haitien. (TF1/USCG e-mail) ¶10. (U) Two Dominican soldiers on the Haiti-Dominican Republic border shot and killed two undocumented Haitians suspected of attempting to take a stolen motorbike back to Haiti. (laht.com) POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS -------------- ¶11. (SBU) The Haitian government has resumed control of the Port-au-Prince airport during daylight hours. (TF1/SOUTHCOM SitRep) ¶12. (SBU) Prime Minister Bellerive met with Embassy officials February 13 and agreed the Government of Haiti supports and authorizes USG efforts to excavate and recover American citizen remains at appropriate sites. (TF1/Embassy Port-au-Prince e-mail) OTHER MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS -------------- ¶13. (U) Media report U.S. troop levels have decreased from 20,000 immediately after the earthquake to 13,000 as international aid and relief efforts improve. (AFP) ¶14. (SBU) Canada will end its military deployment March 13. There are currently 1,979 Canadian troops in Haiti. (Ottawa 168) ¶15. Additional updates are available through our classified Intellipedia portal at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Cris is_HAITI. ¶16. (U) Minimize considered. CLINTON