If You Lived in Haiti- the Next Two Weeks

No one knows for sure what will happen, but those in Haiti who survived the earthquake are still at tremendous risk, for several reasons.

1) Infrastructure was very poor to begin with, now it is virtually nonexistent.  Prior to the earthquake, even the larger cities could not supply electricity and running water to its citizens.  Only the wealtheir Haitians could afford such “luxuries.”  Now, what infrastructure was established has been decimated.  There is no backup system when the primary system was sparse.

2) This means that transporting supplies to the people is going to be extremely difficult.  Already reports from Haiti describe a “bottleneck” at the Port-au-Prince airport.  It is the only airport that can accomodate jetliners in the entire country, so almost the supplies will come through PAP.  Even the ports in other cities are very makeshift, so goods that are shipped will also need to go through PAP.  Unfortunately, when there are damaged roads and no access to gasoline, it is next to impossible to coordinate a process for transporting all the supplies to the 1.2 million people in the city, not to mention the almost 10 million Haitians throught the country.  There is little structure to oversee what we would consider routine, like traffic control or emergency services, so to expect a nation to suddenly implement a coordinated, efficient disaster response is unrealistic.

3) The factor that will impact people most over the next week is access to clean water, which was already limited.  The multileveled, makeshift housing structures throughout PAP do not have running water, nor do the shantytowns surrounding the city.  People in the city depend on shipments of clean water while those living in rural areas utilize wells, sometimes walking for miles every day to reach them.  Since we cannot survive for more than a few days without water, people will begin to turn to whatever source they can find.  No adequate sewage system exists, so pools of rainwater are likely to be contaminated.  Within 1-2 days of drinking this water, which contains shigella, cholera, giardia, E. coli, or any number of other organisms that grow in sewage, people will develop a severe diarrhea.  They will become further dehydrated, and without access to antibiotics, they will be at risk for death.  This is especially true among children.

4) Injuries cannot be adequately treated and will become complicated.  Many people are likely to have suffered open fractures, when the bone protrudes through the skin.  This creates an entry point for bacteria to infect the bone and the bloodstream.  Without proper antibiotics and surgery to close the wound, an overwhelming infection called sepsis usually results, and death occurs within 2-3 days of becoming septic unless IV antibiotics can be delivered.  Other wounds are also likely to develop infection that could become life-threatening if not treated.

5) Long-term disability is going to affect many victims because they have fractures that need to be repaired right now, but there is no access to X-rays or other diagnostic tools, not to mention orthopedic surgeons who may be able to repair a fracture pelvis or other serious injury.  The bones will heal, but in a deformed manner, leading to permanent disability in many cases.

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