Topic: Quake in Haiti

[Ghandi]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/world/americas/14haiti.html?hp

I just saw the headlines but I think it just happened recently. 3am here and no death reports as of yet, but all indications point to it being pretty bad.

Fuck natural disasters..

[Pugnate]

Unreal Tournament imho

[Quemaqua]

Unreal Tournament imho

Haha... man, that's so insensitive... but so funny.

Shitty story, either way.  Big quakes really suck for everyone.  A shame to see it happen.

[Xessive]

Man.. There's not much to say to natural disasters. My prayers go out to those suffering.

Honestly, I did originally think this was a gaming thread too

[Cobra951]

Holy shit.  That is too close to home.   Looks like it happened less than 400 miles West of Puerto Rico.  Why is it always the poorest and most weakly built places that get hammered by these?  I wonder how Santo Domingo is doing?  I see no mention of the Dominican Republic in the story.  The epicenter is not far away from it.  My aunt's family lived there for a long time, moving back to Puerto Rico after her husband died.  Some of my closest cousins grew up there.

[scottws]

Isn't Haiti one of the worst countries in the world?  By that I mean virtually no government control to speak of, excessively poor, and with rampant crime?

[Cobra951]

It is the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere.  It's like a slice of the worst part of Africa, for the same reasons.

[Quemaqua]

Yeah, it's not exactly good times.  Lots of gangs and abductions and that kind of stuff from what I understand.  I can't imagine what the populace must be suffering with such generally abysmal conditions getting overlaid by a big disaster.

[Ghandi]

So reports are 50,000+ dead. Hard to comprehend.

I feel ashamed to say it, but I've avoided looking at pictures of the disaster.

Other than donating money there is nothing that you can do, which is why this is a terrible time for something like this to happen. Many people have nothing to give.

[Cobra951]

Holy mother of God . . .   

[Pugnate]

That is insane.

[scottws]

So what is wrong with their buildings that makes them crumble so easily?  Don't get me wrong, a 7.0 quake is a powerful one, but I thought we had pretty cheap construction here.  Geez.

[Pugnate]

It is a third world country and isn't anything like America.

[ren]

So what is wrong with their buildings that makes them crumble so easily?  Don't get me wrong, a 7.0 quake is a powerful one, but I thought we had pretty cheap construction here.  Geez.

Building codes are virtually non-existant. Most of their buildings were made from cement which was watered down to cut costs.

[Ghandi]

Some aerial shots:

[beo]

i know just how those fuckers feel. after 9 aftershocks i can't find my house either.

too soon...?

[Cobra951]

Some aerial shots . . .

I've been playing Fallout 3 every moment I can.  Then when I turn to the news, it's like I'm still in the game.







http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2010/01/world/gallery.large.haiti-1/index.5.html?hpt=T1

It's all beyond words.