Day 8 - Update: Leogane and latest stats

This is a brief roundup of the current situation of Leogane as of Tuesday late afternoon. (Special thanks to David Walter for research.)

Leogane

Leogane is a small city about 19 km west of Port-au-Prince with a population of 134,000 people. It has suffered extensive damage in the earthquake, with up to 90% of its buildings destroyed, according to The UNDAC On-Site Operations Coordination Center (OSOCC) that surveyed damage there.



For pictures of Leogane disaster by blogger Carel Pedre,who has been remarkable in his citizen-documentation of the earthquake and its aftermath, click this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/carelp/sets/72157623093421961/

As of Jan 14, the road to Leogane was completely collapsed. Since then, efforts have begun to clear the road and rescue, medical and media teams have begun to arrive.

The Body Count:

Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that, according to the local police, between 5,000 and 10,000 people had been killed in the town, with most bodies still remaining in the collapsed buildings. See story.

Thousands of people were still reported to be in the stadium waiting for help.

On Saturday, surviving residents began burying their dead in a mass grave while others worked to build coffins for their relatives. Some residents interviewed by AP Television in Leogane, said food and water had yet to reach the devastated zone, and expressed their desperation and frustration with the situation. They said international aid was only focusing on people in Port-au-Prince, but that help was equally needed in Leogane. Locals used dead bodies to block UN from entering areas of Leogane, insisting the agency help remove the dead first.

Help Slowly Arrives:
On Jan 17, FSIL Nursing school had set up 10 first aid stations there for 5000 residents.

Aid workers arriving on the scene were overwhelmed by the needs of the injured:

"The people here are experiencing many fractures and wounds. Supplies are very limited. There are many amputations which we hope we will be able to treat within the field hospital," Valerie Rzepka, a nurse and CMAT chairperson, said in a statement that was published in a Canadian TV report.

Local priest Father Maral Guirand echoed that assessment: "The situation is very, very, very bad," he said. "People are very poor. They need everything."

First Relief Distribution:

A Washington Post story succinctly captured the situation in Leogane, where people have started rebuilding by scavenging.

Medical Care:

A Canadian group of 25 sailors arrived recently, joined later by Medical Assistance Teams that included an orthopedic surgeon and an anesthesiologist.

Statements of AID agencies on the scene in Leogane, related to progress of delivery of services to the injured, hungry and displaced: '

Catholic Relief Services: CRS is planning to distribute food to 3500 people in Leogane.

The Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED) will also start food distributions with the WFP in the city of Leogane for 30 000 earthquake-affected people from Tuesday January 19th.

Christian Aid partner Koral hopes to provide relief to some 3000 people. Earlier this week it helped with the evacuation of severely injured people from the town. Koral has helped identify some of the worst injured in Leogane and arranged a helicopter transfer to a US charity health facility. Koral is hoping to reach 4000 with food, blankets, jerry cans, water purifiers.

In Petit Goave, to the west of Leogane, Christian Aid partner the National Human Rights Defence Network (RNDDH) aims to reach 5000 people with emergency relief supplies. To these three areas are being sent hygiene kits containing towel, washcloth, comb, nail clippers, soap, toothbrush, plasters.

Stay Tuned.