TFHA01: HAITI EARTHQUAKE TASK FORCE SITUATION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 004829 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. 19 STATE 00004829 001.2 OF 003 VIP TRAVEL -------------- ¶1. (U) UNSYG Ban is en route to Port-au-Prince, and will meet with President Preval. (AP) ¶2. (U) Congressman Kendrik Meeks (D-FL) arrived overnight in Haiti. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call) ¶3. (SBU) Paul Farmer, one of the founders of Partners in Health, and Leslie Voltaire, Deputy UN Special Envoy to Haiti, plan to travel to Haiti January 17. SOUTHCOM is responding to Haitian Ambassador to the United States Joseph's request for a priority landing slot. (TF1/Embassy Port-au-Prince email) SEARCH AND RESCUE (SAR) -------------- ¶4. (U) As of 1100 EST, U.S. SAR had rescued 26 individuals, including three from the Caribbean Market. (TF1/OFDA Email) ¶5. (SBU) SAR operations continue at a daycare center, a university, Hotel Christopher, and the Caribbean Market. SAR will continue as long as there are signs of life. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call) COMMODITY FLOW -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Commodities were distributed overnight from distribution sites, but security and transportation remain the key challenges at the 14 identified sites. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call) ¶7. (U) OFDA has six additional water purification units en route to Haiti. Twelve thousand water containers have arrived in Port-au-Prince. (TF1/OFDA e-mail) AMERICAN CITIZEN WELFARE/WHEREABOUTS/EVACUATIONS -------------- -------------- ¶8. (SBU) 139 Americans departed Port-au-Prince on flights the morning of January 17. 2086 total Americans have been evacuated to date. (TF1/Embassy Port-au-Prince e-mail) ¶9. (SBU) 50 Americans are currently at the airport; 320 Americans are at the embassy; 260 others are outside the embassy being screened and validated. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call) ¶10. (SBU) Consular Affairs is coordinating with U.S. Embassies Santo Domingo and Port-au-Prince to provide TDY consular support. Embassy Santo Domingo is exploring chartering buses to transport Americans from Port-au-Prince for evacuation from Santo Domingo. (TF1/CA e-mail) ¶11. (U) Confirmed private American citizen deaths remain at ¶15. (TF1/Embassy Port-au-Prince e-mail) MEDICAL RESPONSE -------------- ¶12. (SBU) Embassy Port-au-Prince is working with SOUTHCOM to transport a Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) to the central hospital in Port-au-Prince, which reports 1500 patients and limited medical supplies and security challenges. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call) ¶13. (SBU) Sanitation conditions are deteriorating quickly; health and sanitation kits were prioritized and are scheduled to arrive January 17. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call) INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION/REQUESTS -------------- ¶14. (U) UNSYG Ban identified three priorities: saving as many lives as possible, stepping up humanitarian aid, and coordinating the huge amount of aid headed to Haiti. (AP) DEPLOYMENT OF U.S. GOVERNMENT ASSETS -------------- ¶15. (SBU) Frigate USS Underwood is underway and expected to arrive in Haiti January 17. (TF1/SOUTHCOM telcon) ¶16. (SBU) 500 additional troops from the 82nd Airborne will arrive today, taking U.S. military personnel on the ground to 1,300; total U.S. military personnel in the area of operations, including offshore, is 5,302. Troop levels on the ground are expected to reach 3,300 by January 19. (TF1/SOUTHCOM telcon) ¶17. (SBU) The Loomis crane ship is expected to arrive in Port- au-Prince January 22. Two additional Maritime Administration crane ships have been deployed; two private crane ships also may be contracted. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call) HUMANITARIAN/SECURITY/INFRASTRUCTURE -------------- ¶18. (SBU) 100 flights will arrive in Port-au-Prince January ¶17. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call) ¶19. (SBU) SOUTHCOM is completing its assessment of San Isidro Airbase in the Dominican Republic, hoping to make this the primary route for aid delivery for onward transport overland to Haiti. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call) ¶20. (SBU) There are reports of only sporadic violence and no significant deterioration of security. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call) ¶21. (SBU) USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives is conducting an assessment to help stand up Haitian government ministries. (TF1/OFDA telcon) ¶22. (SBU) Cell phone service has improved, and Post estimates the principal cellular network is currently operating at 50 percent capacity. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call) ¶23. (SBU) President Preval welcomed the U.S. Government's offer to facilitate the transfer of reserve funds to Haiti's Central Bank; the U.S. Department of Treasury is exploring transferring up to $100 million. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call) POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS -------------- ¶24. (U) No updates at this time. ¶25. (U) Additional updates are available through our Intellipedia portal on the unclassified system at: http://www.intelink.gov/wiki/Portal:Crisis_Ha iti_Earthquake. ¶26. (U) Minimize considered. CLINTON