TFHA01: HAITI EARTHQUAKE TASK FORCE SITUATION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 013655 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. 71 STATE 00013655 001.2 OF 003 VIP TRAVEL -------------- ¶1. (U) French President Sarkozy will visit Haiti February 17 and is expected to make "very significant" announcements, including the cancellation of $75 million in bilateral debt. (metropolehaiti.com) ¶2. (U) Canadian PM Harper continued his February 15-16 visit, according to press. Canada's $12 million commitment to build a temporary administrative complex to house the Haitian Government is a lead story in the Haitian press. (Haitian Media Internet News Summary) EVACUATIONS/AMERICAN CITIZEN ISSUES -------------- ¶3. (SBU) One flight departed Port-au-Prince for Miami the evening of February 15 with 48 adoptees and American citizens, but more than 100 Americans, including small children and infants, were turned away due to lack of space. Post expects demand will continue to exceed capacity. (TF1/Embassy Port- au-Prince e-mail) ¶4. (SBU) As of 1700 EST February 16, there are 103 reported American citizen fatalities. (TF1/Consular Affairs telcon) ¶5. (SBU) Twenty-three sets of remains have been repatriated to date. DMORT recovered two additional sets of remains of American citizens from the Hotel Montana, and two more sets are yet to be recovered there. (TF1/Embassy Port-au-Prince e- mail) ¶6. (SBU) Nine of 12 adoptees on the list signed February 15 by PM Bellerive arrived in Miami the same day. (TF1/DHS e- mail) ¶7. (U) 16,602 American citizens have been evacuated as of 2100 on February 15. (TF1/Consular Affairs telcon) HUMANITARIAN UPDATE -------------- ¶8. (SBU) On February 15, relief agencies distributed emergency food assistance benefiting approximately 120,000 people in metropolitan Port-au-Prince. Distributions occurred at seven fixed sites. Since the earthquake, the UN, WFP, and partners have provided emergency food assistance to more than 3.4 million people, including more than 2.4 million people through the 16-site distribution system. (USAID SitRep #58) ¶9. (SBU) On February 16, NGOs plan to reach nearly 127,300 additional beneficiaries through distributions at eight sites. (USAID SitRep #58) ¶10. (SBU) Haiti lacks adequate wastewater disposal STATE 00013655 002.2 OF 003 �00A; facilities, with de-sludging trucks currently dumping waste into an uncontrolled site adjacent to a wetlands area outside Port-au-Prince. This site could contaminate water flowing through inhabited portions of the city. Improved disposal sites will be necessary to manage portable latrine waste. (USAID/DART Haiti Earthquake Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Update) MEDICAL RESPONSE -------------- ¶11. (SBU) HHS has decided to stop moving Haitian patients into the National Disaster Medical System patient movement system. The final meeting of Medical Review Board Haiti will be February 16. (TF1/HHS e-mail) ¶12. (SBU) USNS Comfort personnel have identified a number of community health care centers with the capacity to provide appropriate post-operative care upon discharge from the vessel for all but 20-30 of the patients. The USAID/DART health advisor noted the majority of new patients at the USNS Comfort were admitted for routine surgical procedures rather than earthquake-related trauma. (DHS NOC Social Networking/Media Capability, Guardian Special Report (GSR) #87) SECURITY/INFRASTRUCTURE -------------- ¶13. (SBU) Port-au-Prince's ports had their biggest throughput day on February 15, processing 504 TEUs. (TF1/SOUTHCOM SitRep) POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS -------------- ¶14. (U) President Preval said in an exclusive February 15 interview with APTV that it would take three years to clear the rubble. (AP, metropolehaiti.com) ¶15. (U) Experts at the Interamerican Development Bank say reconstruction costs could be as high as $14 billion. (AP, metropolehaiti.com) OTHER MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS -------------- ¶16. (U) Dominican and U.S. authorities are seeking to detain Jorge Puello on human trafficking charges. Puello served as legal adviser to the group of American missionaries charged with child kidnapping. (AP) ¶17. (U) A power outage delayed a ruling on whether the 10 Americans could be released. Prosecutor Joseph Manes Louis said he had written his recommendation, but a February 15 outage precluded him from printing and giving it to the judge. He doesn't expect the judge to rule until February ¶17. (AP) ¶18. (U) A school partially collapsed after rains in Cap Haitien, killing at least four children and injuring others. (AP, metropolehaiti.com) STATE 00013655 003.2 OF 003 ¶19. (U) Additional updates are available through our Intellipedia portal on the unclassified system at: http://www.intelink.gov/wiki/Portal:Crisis_Ha iti_Earthquake. ¶20. (U) Minimize considered. CLINTON