TFHA01: HAITI EARTHQUAKE TASK FORCE SITUATION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 006986 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. 33 STATE 00006986 001.2 OF 003 VIP TRAVEL -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Senator Kerry (D-MA),Representative McGovern (D- MA),USAID Administrator Shah, and FEMA Administrator Fugate will visit Haiti January 23. (TF1/CA e-mail, TF1/DHS and OFDA e-mails) ¶2. (SBU) Representative Rooney (R-FL) will travel to Port- au-Prince January 24, and Representative Waters (D-CA) will travel to Haiti January 25. (TF1/WHA-CAR e-mail) SEARCH AND RESCUE (SAR) -------------- ¶3. (SBU) UN/OCHA reports the Government of Haiti announced the end of the search and rescue phase of post-earthquake operations effective 1600 EST January 22. Embassy Port-au- Prince has not confirmed the GOH actually made this announcement. (OCHA SitRep #11, TF1/Embassy Port-au-Prince telcon and e-mails) ¶4. (SBU) After the reported end of SAR operations, media report an 84-year-old woman and 21-year-old man were rescued. (AP) ¶5. (SBU) U.S. SAR teams remain in country and on stand-by, including a team at the Hotel Montana. (TF1/CA e-mail) COMMODITY FLOW -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Additional banks and supermarkets have opened and retail commodity prices have stabilized. U.S. forces will facilitate delivery of $2 million to twelve banks around the capital January 23. (SOUTHCOM DCO, JTF SitRep) ¶7. (SBU) Fuel supplies in the capital are improving, with 30 percent of gas stations open. Venezuela will send a shipment of 800,000 gallons of fuel January 31. (SOUTHCOM DCO) ¶8. (SBU) SOUTHCOM plans approximately 130 flights into Port- au-Prince January 23, with the majority of slots allocated to civilian and NGO aircraft. (SOUTHCOM DCO) AMERICAN CITIZEN WELFARE/WHEREABOUTS/EVACUATIONS -------------- -------------- ¶9. (SBU) As of 1800 EST January 22, 1306 American citizens and family members departed Port-au-Prince. A total of 14,185 passengers have been evacuated to date, of which 11,399 are American citizens. Seventy-five American citizens remain inside the Embassy and none remain outside as of 0530 EST. The Embassy is now treating some evacuee cases as humanitarian parolees, rather than visa candidates. (TF1/Embassy Port-au-Prince e-mail) MEDICAL RESPONSE -------------- ¶10. (SBU) HHS medical teams have sufficient medical supplies. An HHS incident response team is working with the Ministry of Health to assess medical infrastructure. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call) ¶11. (SBU) As of 0400 EST January 23, USNS Comfort treated 1427 patients and performed approximately 93 surgeries. In addition, 11,000 pounds of medical supplies have been off- loaded from the USNS Comfort. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call, SOUTHCOM DCO) INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION/REQUESTS -------------- ¶12. (U) No updates as this time. DEPLOYMENT OF U.S. GOVERNMENT ASSETS -------------- ¶13. (SBU) LTG Keen and USAID officials will meet with MINUSTAH January 23 to "refine support requirements" for humanitarian operations. (SOUTHCOM DCO) ¶14. (SBU) There are currently 13,368 U.S. military personnel in Haiti or on ships nearby, in addition to personnel from OFDA, DHS, HHS, and other agencies. (JTF-Haiti SitRep, TF1/OFDA telcon) HUMANITARIAN/SECURITY/INFRASTRUCTURE -------------- ¶15. (SBU) Haitian officials estimate 111,000 dead from the quake, with another 609,000 displaced and still without shelter, according to OCHA. (SOUTHCOM DCO) ¶16. (SBU) The security situation remains generally calm and most major roads remain open. Looting and criminal activity continue in downtown Port-au-Prince, with small groups of young men seeking targets of opportunity. Escaped convicts are returning to their former areas and attempting to reorganize their gangs. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call, JTF-Haiti SitRep) ¶17. (SBU) The Haitian government is providing free bus service to help people move from Port-au-Prince to areas outside the capital. As many as 130,000 people have left the city, according to UN and GOH estimates. Many Haitians are migrating toward larger relief distribution points that have a security presence; 500,000 people are reportedly gathered near the airport, one of two major U.S. military distribution sites. (SOUTHCOM DCO, TF1/Interagency Conference Call, JTF-Haiti SitRep) ¶18. (SBU) Approximately 70 percent of the Haitian National Police have returned to duty, according to U.S. military estimates. (SOUTHCOM DCO) ¶19. (SBU) The port is operating at 30 percent capacity due to damage to the pier, but SOUTHCOM estimates the port's capacity will increase in the next 96 hours. (SOUTHCOM DCO) POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS -------------- ¶20. (SBU) While frustrated with the efficiency of relief distribution, the majority of recipients were appreciative. There are multiple anecdotal reports of Haitians welcoming the US military. (TF1/JTF-Haiti SitRep) ¶21. (U) Additional updates are available through our Intellipedia portal on the unclassified system at: http://www.intelink.gov/wiki/Portal:Crisis_Ha iti_Earthquake. ¶22. (U) Minimize considered. CLINTON