Haiti Earthquake

The recent earthquakes in Haiti have caused untold amounts of destruction and require the immediate attention of the international community. Millions of people are being affected right now by these quakes , the first measuring about 7.3 on the Richter scale and the second about 6. The death toll in Haiti has reached about 50,000 people but it is estimated that nearly 200,000 people have been killed overall and nearly everyone in the entire country has been affected in some way. While the international community has been quick to provide as much aid as possible, the process is slow and many people have become impatient with the serious lack of supplies and money necessary. They have become rioting in the streets out of pure desperation for the simplest of supplies that they need to live. One of the most important and necessary of the supplies that the people need is tents. So many people are living without any shelter and they simply can't deal with it. Another serious thing that these people are lacking is access to clean water, but sending supplies at this point may not be the best thing to do. The best thing to do at this point is to just send money. That way, the organizations in charge of handling the money can decide what to buy for the people that they feel is of the utmost importance. What we don't need to do is over send a certain type of item and then they get stuck with stuff that they don't need. Overall, this situation has been a devastating blow to the Haitian people and it will be some time before the country will be able to return to normal functioning.
-Alex Mercier