TFHA01: HAITI EARTHQUAKE TASK FORCE SITUATION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 007079 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. 37 STATE 00007079 001.6 OF 002 VIP TRAVEL -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Representative T. Rooney (R-FL) visited the Hotel Montana January 24. (TF1/Embassy Port-au-Prince e-mail) ¶2. (U) Haitian-born rapper Wyclef Jean, who established the charity Yele Haiti, arrived in Port-au-Prince January 24. (BBC) SEARCH AND RESCUE (SAR) -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The Fairfax County and Los Angeles SAR teams will remain in Haiti until January 27. They will be on standby and will train Haitian personnel. Both teams will donate equipment to the Haitians they train. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call) ¶4. (SBU) On January 24, two bodies, believed to be U.S. citizens, were removed from the Hotel Montana. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call) COMMODITY FLOW -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The World Food Program (WFP) is moving into phase two, organizing NGOs to support sourcing and distributing food. The WFP reports having registered 500 NGOs to assist. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call) ¶6. (SBU) Gas stations are in operation with no lines reported. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call) ¶7. (SBU) Banks are in operation; however, there are indications of a cash shortage. Another tranche of cash will be required similar to the $2 million provided earlier. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call, DOD DCO Briefing) EVACUATIONS/AMERICAN CITIZEN AND LE STAFF WHEREABOUTS -------------- -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Due to lack of demand, Embassy Santo Domingo ceased operation of bus and military air evacuation routes to the Dominican Republic. All evacuees have left the Hotel Santo Domingo. (Santo Domingo SitRep 8) MEDICAL RESPONSE -------------- ¶9. (SBU) The number of patients seen by the USNS Comfort spiked to over 1,000 on January 24. (TF1/DOD DCO Brief) ¶10. (SBU) Rumors of a typhoid epidemic are false. (TF1/APAN Haiti Relief Group e-mail) INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION/REQUESTS STATE 00007079 002.4 OF 002 ¶11. (U) No updates at this time. DEPLOYMENT OF U.S. GOVERNMENT ASSETS -------------- ¶12. (SBU) The governments of Haiti and the Dominican Republic authorized Predator UAV reconnaissance missions to support relief efforts. The FAA approved two missions per day. (TF1/DOD DCO Brief) HUMANITARIAN/SECURITY/INFRASTRUCTURE -------------- ¶13. (SBU) In addition to providing security for relief efforts, the Haitian National Police and MINUSTAH are actively pursuing criminals, including the 5,000 prison escapees. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call) ¶14. (SBU) A port management group has been established to coordinate port operations and inbound shipping. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call) POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS -------------- ¶15. (SBU) The government of Haiti accepted MINUSTAH's offer to build an administrative village for the Haitian government with Canada expected to take the lead. (Canadian Embassy to the U.S. SitRep) ¶16. (U) Additional updates are available through our Intellipedia portal on the classified system at: http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Cris is_Haiti. ¶17. (U) Minimize considered. CLINTON