Haitian earthquake overview

[NewsWhore]

Writing in today's Diario Libre, economist Gustavo Volmar states that the main damage caused by the earthquake in Haiti was in urban areas. He explains that its intensity, shallowness and location combined to cause massive devastation in Port-au-Prince. Buildings, avenues and streets were blocked, and major political, economic and social centers destroyed. He also mentions that aside from the south, other regions of Haiti have suffered only limited effects, and that farming was not affected. He advocates preventing the effects of the disaster from spreading to other parts of the country. He says the population displacement requires order to be maintained. He comments that there is no coordination of the aid that is arriving and the items could end up in local markets, competing with local produce that is an important source of work and revenues for Haitian families. "Given that from an economic viewpoint the greatest challenge is to restore and create permanent jobs, it is important to prevent the aid received from becoming an obstacle to the country's economic recovery," he writes.

More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#8)