TFHA01: HAITI EARTHQUAKE TASK FORCE SITUATION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 004789 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. 15 STATE 00004789 001.2 OF 003 VIP TRAVEL -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Spanish Vice President Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega will travel to Haiti via the Dominican Republic January 17,carrying 11 tons of emergency humanitarian aid. (TF1/Embassy Madrid e-mail and telcon) ¶2. (SBU) Colombian President Alvaro Uribe will travel to Haiti January 17. (TF1/SOUTHCOM HA/DR sitrep) SEARCH AND RESCUE (SAR) -------------- ¶3. (SBU) A total of 26 SAR teams are deployed on the ground. UNDAC does not require additional teams and they are turning down offers for additional teams. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call) ¶4. (SBU) A Taiwanese SAR team departed January 16 for Haiti overland from the Dominican Republic, according to the Taiwan Coordination Desk. The Taiwan Red Cross team will arrive in the Dominican Republic the evening of January 16. (TF1/Taiwan Coordination desk telcon) ¶5. (SBU) Other countries have deployed 260 SAR personnel on 8 teams to Haiti. (FEMA sitrep) COMMODITY FLOW -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Priorities for air movement are medical supplies (50 percent),food and water (20 percent),and personnel (30 percent). Embassy Port-au-Prince is considering adjustments to the priorities and may give greater emphasis to water. DoD has 50 flights scheduled to arrive in Haiti January 16. ¶7. (SBU) Three water sanitation units were delivered and one is operational (with the Argentine contingent at the hospital). Two more water sanitation units will arrive January 16, bringing the capacity to 300,000 liters per day. NGOs and other organizations are bringing water from the Dominican Republic. ¶8. (SBU) Embassy Port-au-Prince reports the roads in northern Haiti have suffered little damage, while roads to the south are damaged and need repairs. ¶9. (SBU) Port assessments have been partially completed. Initial assessments indicate the repairs will not be completed in the short-term. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call) AMERICAN CITIZEN WELFARE/WHEREABOUTS/EVACUATIONS -------------- -------------- ¶10. (SBU) U.S. military teams expanded the outer perimeter of the airport, making room for a fenced passenger processing area, allowing for faster processing of AmCit passengers. (TF1/CA e-mail) ¶11. (SBU) A U.S. communications team arrived January 16 in Haiti and set up basic operations including computers, satellite phones, a generator, and e-mail for consular operations. E-mail is working, but remains slow. (TF1/CA e- mail) ¶12. (SBU) An evacuation plan for 150 orphans to Pittsburgh is underway from Port-au-Prince. (TF1/SOUTHCOM HA/DR e-mail) ¶13. (SBU) DoD evacuated 900 AmCits January 16 with the majority taken to Homestead and McGuire AFBs. Military flights and Coast Guard shuttles have the capacity to move 1,700 people January 16. (TFI/SOUTHCOM HA/DR e-mail) ¶14. (SBU) The pace of AmCits arriving at Embassy Port-au- Prince has decreased. Over 300 AmCits are at the airport, en- route to the Embassy, and at the Embassy. Post expects additional AmCits to arrive throughout the day. MEDICAL RESPONSE -------------- ¶15. (U) No updates at this time. INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION/REQUESTS -------------- ¶16. (SBU) At the request of the Government of Haiti and the International Civil Aviation Organization, the United States established new flow management procedures for all fixed wing flights into Haiti. The procedures were published and are expected to improve the pace of air and ground aviation operations, including refueling. (TF1/PM-ISO e-mail) ¶17. (U) Turkey committed 10 tons of humanitarian aid including medicine, medical equipment, tents, blankets, and food. (turkishweekly.net) ¶18. (SBU) UNHCR has an existing contingency plan with International Organization for Migration (IOM) for the Dominican Republic and will have a team of three arriving in the Dominican Republic January 19 to work on broader management issues at the request of the UN Resident Coordinator in the Dominican Republic. UNHCR will work with IOM to adjust planning as necessary. UNHCR is sending three staff members to Haiti to help OHCHR on protection issues. (TF1/PRM e-mail) DEPLOYMENT OF U.S. GOVERNMENT ASSETS -------------- ¶19. (SBU) Fifteen Diplomatic Security agents will join 28 other agents already positioned in Haiti January 17 from the Dominican Republic. The agents will focus on escorting fuel and supply convoys. (TF1/ Embassy Port-au-Prince e-mail) ¶20. (SBU) USNS Comfort departed Baltimore with a crew of 600 and will arrive in Haiti on January 20. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call) HUMANITARIAN/SECURITY/INFRASTRUCTURE -------------- ¶21. (U) The Haitian government recovered 20,000 bodies, not counting those recovered by independent agencies or relatives. (AP) ¶22. (SBU) An estimated 3,000 escaped prisoners are armed with some initial fighting for food and water, but no reports of widespread violence. (FEMA sitrep) ¶23. (SBU) U.S. Naval helicopter support is available and airport space was identified in the Dominican Republic for off-loading supplies. (FEMA sitrep) ¶24. (SBU) Comcel Haiti reports 90 of their 300 cell towers are out of service. NCC reports communication assets are being deployed to support initial military and humanitarian relief operations. There are reports of telephone congestion both inbound and outbound in Haiti. "Telecom without Borders" team arrived in Port-au-Prince on a special charter with equipment allowing for the creation of Wi-Fi access. (FEMA sitrep) POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS -------------- ¶25. (U) No updates at this time. 26.(U) Additional updates are available through our Intellipedia portal on the unclassified system at: http://www.intelink.gov/wiki/Portal:Crisis_Ha iti_Earthquake. 27.(U) Minimize considered. CLINTON