Tsunami threat called off

| 12/01/2010

Cayman Islands News, Earthquake in Haiti(CNS): Updated Tuesday 11:40pm. A 7.0-magnitude earthquake which struck off the coast of Haiti at around 5pm Tuesday evening is feared to have caused major loss of life in and around the capital, Port-au-Prince and has been described as "a catastrophe of major proportions", the BBC reports. However, the tsunami threat triggered by the earthquake was called off at 6:45pm. The watch was issued for Haiti, parts of Cuba, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, according to the US Geological Survey. The quake was centered about 10 miles off the coast and about 6 miles underground, according to the USGS.

A Reuters reporter in Port-au-Prince said he had seen "dozens of dead and injured people" in the rubble of fallen buildings. The Associated Press is reporting the collapse of a hospital and other reports say that tremors associated with that earthquake were felt in the Corporate Area of Kingston and St. Andrew, Jamaica.

According to the BBC the quake was quickly followed by two strong aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 magnitude. Henry Bahn, a visiting official from the US Department of Agriculture, told the BBC that he had seen houses which had tumbled into a ravine. "Everybody is just totally, totally freaked out and shaken," said Bahn.

While a tsunami watch was in place for parts of the Eastern Caribbean "a destructive widespread tsunami threat does not exist based on historical earthquake and tsunami data," said officials from the tsunami warning centre. However, the centre warned of the possibility of a local tsunami that could affect coasts located around a hundred kilometres from the earthquake epicentre.

See more pictures on the BBC

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  1. Help Our Neighbours says:

    Are there any accounts set up. or being set up for financial aid for these striken people of Haiti? If so please post them on your website.

    CNS: The Red Cross say they will be sending out a press release shortly and we will post it when they do.

    • gene hunt says:

      you can volunteer direct services/aid or support at the umbrella site that the aid agencies have access to.

      http://www.CIDI.ORG/REG_OFF.HTM (note there is an UNDERSCORE between the ‘REG’ and the ‘OFF’)

      and before you all start, yes I haveregistered.

       

      CNS, not sure on your ‘links’ policy but please post this one.

  2. Anonymous says:

    I’m a bit surprised that of all the photos available of the disaster in Haiti, that you would choose to show one of an obviously traumatized woman sitting in the street with one of her breasts exposed. I think that given her situation she might be entitled to an expectation of some privacy. For the sake of common courtesy, please use a different photo.

  3. Anonymous says:

    To oookay and hellip

     

    Try picking on the local government weather station with regards to not reporting about the tsunami  warning and not pick on CNS. CNS at least brought us something on the matter – left to the local weather station the tsunami would have come and gone and we would possibly not be around to read anything.

  4. Anonymous says:

    Just waiting for the usual inbred Caymanian response from XXX or some other self righteous bigot – charity begins at home etc, why do we care about what is happening there, when we’ve got so many problems here…..

    Thats the typical response whenever there is a humanitarian crisis like in Haiti or the other month in the Phillipines.

    It is these so called christians that make symbolise everything that is wrong with the country and the corrupt money grabbing churches that run it.

  5. CaymanLover says:

    It seems like Haiti is always in the news for some form of devastation or another.  This is so unfortunate and I hope they can recover from this.  Whether you believe in God or not (or arent sure), whether you chastise Haiti for going independent or whether you just want to whinge for the sake of whinging, what has happened there is heartbreaking. 

    Is anyone aware of any relief fund being setup?  If not how do you start one?

  6. Help Our Neighbours says:

    Is there a relief fund being set up where people can contribute monies to aid those so severly affected? If so and I imagine there will be several will  you please be kind enough to post on your website where contributions can be deposited.

    CNS: As soon as we hear of any fundraisers, we will post the details.

    • Anonymous says:

      Text YELE to 501501 to donate $5

      Go here to learn and do more:

      http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/impact/

    • Anonymous says:

      If you’re interested in donating to the relief efforts, also consider Rotary. The four Cayman Islands Rotary clubs are all in the same "District" as the Haitian clubs and we know many of their members personally. We have strong ties with them and therefore already have contacts in cities all over Haiti. Disaster relief is one of Rotary’s specialties and together our clubs raised over $1 million for local relief efforts after hurricane Ivan. What makes our efforts exceptional is that every single dollar raised goes directly to the cause, with none of the money used for administration expenses. For contact information, look for Rotary under the white page listings in the phone book.

      CNS: If you send details of exactly how people can donate to Haiti through Rotary, I’ll happily post them. Email me here.

  7. Anonymous says:

    Yes God will protect his people in cayman but all those loosers and sufferers in countries like hati and jamaica won’t get any also the third world country. They are too sinful . Lets say it for the self-rigteous .

    • Lower Vally resident says:




      Really and truly, in a time of such distress, you really have the audacity to post such a despicable comment.  I am lost for words; your ethnocentric mentality is on par with the depths of insanity.  What a sad world we live in now, when some caymanian thought are intune with Christian extremist views. 

      • Lachlan MacTavish says:

         I am truly embarrased with the attitudes of some of the posters here….

      • Anonymous says:

        You’re so stupid you can’t even see the original post was making fun of people like you

      • Anon says:

        I wholeheartedly support your comment and really such a horrible comment by that person should not have been posted. God have mercy on that disgusting sinners soul for posting such a nasty comment. BUT, we can not assume that it was a Caymanian that wrote that comment….there are so many nationalities here and so many people, I’m sure, worldwide that may be on this website….God only knows who posted that comment. If it was a Caymanian, I am truly ashamed of them! However, if it was someone else, it’s a shame we all have to be marred by someone else’s sadistic outlook on other’s people’s misfortunes….

        Thank the good Lord above for sparing us from anymore torment and devastation right now. At a time when so many are hurting now. The unfortunate and scary thing is. I honestly didn’t hear of a tsunami warning until this morning. IF there had been a tsunami, how much of us in the Cayman Islands would have been warned in time to prepare?? It’s a very scary thought and I do thank God that he spared us! Now, we all need to come together and help those poor people in Haiti. They seem to get hit from all ends. It’s just a sad terrible situation and we should try to help. It’s the christian thing to do.

    • Anonymous says:

      What’s wrong with you people?

      What cold and empty souls. I have a sense of humour and appreciate sarcasm but goodness let’s practise some temperance.

      There will severe loss of life and widespread destruction and devastation so let’s try to be a bit more sensitive please.

       

      • Anonymous says:

        Voltaire said it best when he queried why God wrought an earthquake on Lisbon while everyone was in church. The fatalities were extremely high because then most of the heavy stone buildings which collapsed were churches, and had it not been Sunday morning, the fatalities would have been much lighter.

         

        http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Poem_on_the_Lisbon_Disaster

    • Anonymous says:

      "losers" "haiti" "self-righteous"…. is there only one third world country? Stick your head back under your rock please.  God works in mysterious ways.

    • Fallen Angel says:

      Ah – so when Ivan hit Cayman,  I bet you suffered, too.  Therefore, you must be one of the ‘loosers and sinful’, too. 

      Something must really be ‘loose’ between your ears – some gray matter, perhaps?

      • Anonymous says:

        I think a lot of people choose to forget the help we did receive after Ivan.  We must all remember "You are your brother’s keeper"  God help the people ofHaiti.

    • Notorious says:

      As a Caymanian your comment has outrage me!  Especially when our fellow neighbors need help in their time of need!  First I would like to say to you, how "DARE" you use the name of God with your hateful and disgusting ways?  God is a God of love not hate just remember that!   Please tell me what in the world has Haiti, Jamaica or other Countries done to you?   You should be ashamed of yourself for it’s people like you that destroys the real human race!

       My Caymanian people I am urging you all to help the people of Haiti for they are our Sisters and Brothers, even if you have to donate clothes that would be a great help to the people.  I know CNS will surely keep us updated on any charities we can donate to.   To the people of Haiti may God bless you all and may he comfort you in these difficult times.  One Luv!

       

  8. Anonymous says:

    Poor old Haiti. The first mainly black country to throw off the yoke of white colonial rule so many many years ago-an example they like to say to the rest of the colonised world. Ever since, a backwater of abject poverty, non development, tyranny, bloodshed and corruption.

    But as Ghandi said when he was told that when the British left India, it would descend into chaos: "Yes, but it will be our chaos". It did sink into chaos for a while but he did not live to see it as he was assassinated by one of the extremists he had been warned about.

    Hopefully, the world will rally round poor Haiti in its most recent catastrophe.

    • Joe Average says:

      Not sure if I understand the bit about throwing off the yoke and some correlation between that and poverty.etc.  Often, when that happens, economic terrorism begins (pay-back) which results in making a country suffer (read Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins for more on this).  But I do know seeing pictures of our brother and sisters in Haiti suffering after this latest calamity sure puts some our petty squabbles into perspective. Time to stop and think. 

      And give whatever help we can.  That’s what makes us people.  Because what happens to someone else ultimately affects all of us.

      When the Red Cross gets behind this let’s all pitch in.

      • Anonymous says:

        There is a "correlation" when big U.S. companies offer big loans to the government of Haiti throughthe World Bank or Bank of USA, which they truthfully know they cannot pay. And then when comes the time that they can’t pay, these companies ask for some ownership of Haiti’s natural resources like the forest, lands, or some piece of the economic pie. The end result:  Only the heads and elites over these companies, benefit from the resources and the people of Haiti are left without jobs or made to work under them for a penny. Moreover, the politicians are bribed… some even executed so that certain laws can be enforced upon the people. These foriegn companies, many of them U.S. have also taken the economies of certain countries like Honduras. Many are nieve to the fact that it was companies like Dole and Chiquita in Honduras that called in the military to "save their economy" from the Zelaya who wanted at the time, lower the minimum wage of Honduras to benefit the poor. Not saying Zelaya was a "devil" that had other agendas, but the head of the companies and sweatshops were in his ousting really for economic gain; it was never in behalf of the people.

        But some people may disagree with me on this – may even call me a "leftist"

        All I have to say is that Greed and racism has its ways in destroying nations, and we should be aware of predatory capitalism and big corporations which seek profit over people’s needs. We have to also be careful on accepting big loans.

        Peace

  9. Anonymous says:

    Oookay…

     
    Your article is posted 6:16 p.m., and the quake start at 5:00 p.m.
     
    Ummm…are you telling us late, because your in Miami and we are in Cayman?
     

    CNS: Not exactly … try West Bay … and posted an hour after quake as that’s when we heard about it (being as I’m in West Bay and not Haiti or Miami) and had enough information to post an article…personally I didn’t think we were that late but hey-ho you can’t please everyone!!!

    • Anonymous says:

      Anonymous Ignoramous, you imply you expect news reports the instance events occur – which is not possible.  But aside from that, was there a point to your post? 

    • Anonymous says:

      I’d like to see you collate information from multiple sources and have an article prepared for delivery to the general public, within that time. Your criticism is useless and not well thought out. Be grateful that you were informed at all.

       

  10. Anonymous says:

    We all can’t just sit back and not realize that the Cayman, is within the region of Cuba. So that means that we should prepare ourselves of a possipble tsunami threat.

  11. Anonymous says:

    Let’s wait for the posts about God protecting us because it didn’t happen.

    • Anonymous2 says:

      Thank you God for sparing us.  Christian bashers bash away.

      To the person below: yes, we should thank God for sparing us.  That doesn’t make the people in Haiti sinners and us Christians.  I’m sure that there are people in Haiti that are Christians. We are just lucky to be born in such a wonderful place as the Cayman Islands.  Now let’s help them however we can.