page_title: Timeline of relief efforts after the 2010 Haiti earthquake
section_title: 14 January 2010
hierarchical_section_title: Timeline of relief efforts after the 2010 Haiti earthquake / 14 January 2010
caption_attribution_description: Map of Port-Au-Prince and Carrefour in Haiti
context_page_description: The timeline of rescue efforts after the 2010 Haiti earthquake of 12 January 2010 involves the sequence of events in the days following a highly destructive 7.0 Mw earthquake with an epicenter 25 kilometres west of the nation's capital, Port-au-Prince. With at least 70% of the city's buildings destroyed, the earthquake also caused damage and loss of life in other parts of the country. The Haitian government experienced a near-collapse and affected people were left mostly to their own resources until foreign aid arrived in the following days.
  Initial death toll estimates ranged between 50,000 and 200,000.
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  Medical aid for the Haiti earthquake became a military-style operation. At least 20 countries provided manpower, supplies or financial aid to Haiti, while the most immediate foreign assistance was being provided by military and humanitarian contingents from neighboring Dominican Republic. Dominican president Leonel Fernández visited Haiti to set up an emergency plan for assistance with president René Préval, to include reestablishing communications, rescuing the victims, burying the dead, clearing the rubble, reestablishing the supplies for electricity and water and coordinating the Dominican army with the United Nations Stabilization Mission for the relief operations. Colombia's military also contributed to the relief effort by sending relief flights. Jamaica sent a team of 168 military and medical personnel to Port-au-Prince.
  Staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross already in the country distributed medical items to hospitals and two ICRC-chartered aircraft carrying specialized staff and 40 tonnes of relief supplies – mainly medical items – left Geneva for the island. At the same time, the organization made its forensic expertise available to organizations attempting to recover and identify the dead.
  Communication and infrastructure problems were worsened by the destruction. Streets were clogged with debris and rubble, making it nearly impossible to distribute food, water, temporary shelter, and medical supplies that had been delivered throughout the day by international charities and governments to the airport. Ships were also unable to render aid because the port facilities had been too damaged. The Port-au-Prince morgue became overwhelmed with thousands of dead bodies that were laid outside on the streets and sidewalks. Aid workers began to concentrate on identification and disposal of corpses. Concerns were also raised by a representative from Oxfam that aid workers may be overwhelmed with rampant crime from gangs who had taken over the country, which prompted the UN to intervene to restore some order.
  Social networking became a significant response to the earthquake as Twitter and Facebook spread messages and pleas to assist; "Haiti", "Help Haiti", and "Red Cross" were among the most popular topics on Twitter. However, Haitians updating their Facebook statuses were blocked for repeatedly sending messages to tell people that they and their friends or family members were alive, which triggered spam guards on the website. The American Red Cross generated $7 million within 24 hours by offering an option to text message $10 donations by cell phone, setting a record for mobile donating. The OpenStreetMap community responded by greatly improving the level of mapping available for the area using post-earthquake satellite photography provided by GeoEye.
caption: OpenStreetMap map of Port-au-Prince and Carrefour made almost entirely by volunteers after the earthquake. (link to larger version)
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