More military support heading to Haiti after earthquake and tropical storm that left 1,400 dead

Additional US forces are heading to Haiti to provide humanitarian assistance after Saturday’s devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tropical storm slowed rescue and recovery efforts.

The death toll continues to rise, with more than 1,400 people killed and up to 6,000 injured, according to the Associated Press.

In the wake of heavy rain and strong winds from Grace, a tropical depression that swept the island on Monday, the United States is stepping up its response to the relief mission. The Navy deployed the Arlington amphibious landing platform on Tuesday with a group of Marines on board. The US Coast Guard added seven cutters to the two already at the site.

Eight Army and Air Force helicopters from the Honduran-based Bravo Combined Task Force are also deployed in the region.

The Defense Department on Sunday established a joint task force for Haiti at Air Reserve Base in Homestead, Florida, at the request of the US Agency for International Development’s Office of Humanitarian Assistance.

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The task force immediately dispatched a 14-member situational assessment team from Southern Special Operations Command, followed by Coast Guard helicopters to conduct damage assessments and transport 15 injured Haitians to urgent care centers.

As of Tuesday, the US Coast Guard has rescued 51 people and provided support for dozens more in 34 sorties. In addition, the service delivered 5,500 pounds of medical supplies, according to officials.

Margaret Norville is joined by two cutters on the scene, Reliance and Winslow Griesser.

Helicopters from Honduras — three UH-60 Black Hawks, three CH-47 Chinooks, and two HH-60 Pave Hawks — are expected to arrive Wednesday to deliver supplies and support relief efforts, according to a task force press release. Shared bravo. .

US Southern Command said it also plans to use helicopters from the Puerto Rican National Guard to respond; A Navy P-8 Poseidon, currently operating from El Salvador, will provide aerial images.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday that Arlington will transport two MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopters, a surgical team and a mechanized landing vehicle to ferry supplies to shore.

Burlington, the expeditionary rapid transport, is also involved in the response, according to Kirby, as are Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules and HC-144 Ocean Sentry surveillance aircraft.

According to the US Agency for International Development, the earthquake, aftershocks and related landslides led to the collapse of at least 700 buildings, including hospitals and schools, and the destruction of “several thousand homes”.

The damage to infrastructure is challenging relief efforts and making it difficult to obtain information from the affected area along the southern Haiti Peninsula.

The earthquake is the second devastating earthquake to hit the country in recent decades. In January 2010, a large part of the capital, Port-au-Prince, was hit by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake, which killed 250,000 people and injured 300,000.

Another 1.5 million people have been displaced from their homes.

In 2016, Hurricane Matthew hit the poor country, a Category 4 storm that killed more than 540 people and caused $1.9 billion in losses.

The latest earthquake comes at a time of political turmoil and ensuing economic conflicts in the country, following the assassination of its President Jovenel Moise on July 7.

“The U.S. Army continues to provide unique air, medical, logistical, and engineering capabilities in support of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Office of Humanitarian Assistance,” Kirby said. “[USAID is] driving the effort. We support them to help save lives and alleviate human suffering in these critical early stages of the disaster relief operation.”

In addition to federal forces, 72 members of the Fairfax County, Virginia search and rescue team deployed to the disaster site.

Patricia Kime can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

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