Haiti Earthquake Death Toll Raised To 230,000

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haiti's government has raised the death toll for the Jan. 12 earthquake to 230,000 from 212,000 and says more bodies remain uncounted.

The government initially estimated 150,000 dead on Jan. 24, apparently from bodies being recovered in the rubble of collapsed buildings in Port-au-Prince, the capital that was near the epicenter.

Communications Minister Marie-Laurence Jocelyn Lassegue said Tuesday the government now counts 230,000 deaths.

But she says the new figure is not definitive. She says it does not include bodies buried by private funeral homes in private cemeteries or the dead buried by their own families.

The new figure gives the quake the same death toll as the 2004 Asian tsunami.

Comments

[wdw505]

09:35 AM on 02/11/2010

so what is Haiti's new carbon footprint..........it should be a lot lower now

[RationalityPlease]

07:33 AM on 02/10/2010

Amazing how many people attribute these deaths to a "natural" disaster when it was anything but. Earthquakes, themselves, rarely kill people. (Sometimes tsunamis do, but there was no such tsunami in Haiti this time.)

No, this was a man-made disaster---one that the U.S. and our corporations played a very large role in creating through many years of our illegal interventions in Haiti and our exploitations of the Haitian people.

[Kenright]

03:21 PM on 02/10/2010

I recall the one that hit Iran some years ago. Kind of the same type of construction, poor, no rebar...etc. That one in Iran was actually Reagans fault, due to our meddleing there. This one though, this is Bush's fault.

[KIVPossum]

04:07 AM on 02/10/2010

Amazing how fragile life is. A quarter of a million people, walking the streets, cooking supper, coming home from work or school, and wiped out in a few minutes, most probably in a few seconds.

[forly16]

01:08 AM on 02/10/2010

Does it seem like any aid is getting through?
Does Haiti need food, water, and medical supplies, Or 20 plus thousand troops with big guns?
Do they not need doctors, civil engineers, and heavy equipment to clear the rubble?
This is not a war - it's a relief effort right!!!?
Are Haitians still dying due to lack of medical attention?
Why 5 Doctors without Borders planes have been disallowed to land by the U.S. military in Port-au-prince?
Why were eight flights from the other nations sent back?
Why 2 Mexican air craft with vital life saving equipments sent back?
Could Preval have sold out to the Americans?
Is it true The US has been after Haiti for over a century?
Could the American Military use aid and rescue as an excuse to occupy Haiti and set up military bases there?
Why sent 20,000 troops and only a hand full of doctors?
Could they have also withheld the food and water longenough to get looting footage for the media?
Could they have found oil and other natural minerals in Haiti?
Haiti doesn't want troop's invasion,
we don't want occupation from foreign countries
We will not end up as slaves to other nations, in the shadow of helping hand.
Did U.S went into Haiti to secure American interest?
It looks like theflag of the U.S will soon fly high over Haiti

Please Reply.

[thrdr]

03:58 AM on 02/10/2010

It IS primarily an occupation for the U.S. military, of course. The U.S. does not want, as the dust settles and the blood dries, a resurgance of power from the Haitian people and Lavalas, far and away the most popular Haitian political party, let alone the return of Aristide, the country's last legitimately elected President. That would be bad for business. And business supercedes humanity in the U.S. mindset everytime these days--just take a look at our current theatrical farce over healthcare.

[113]

12:59 AM on 02/10/2010

it's just tremendously sad that 230,000 people can be wiped out of existence just like that...awful

[Tazirai]

12:19 AM on 02/10/2010

Thats alot of people, sad to see so many lose their lives that way. We live on a geologially active world. Regardless of what we do, humans can't match Natures laws.

[RationalityPlease]

07:26 AM on 02/10/2010

Actually, most of these deaths are an entirely unnecessary result of an earthquake: They came from buildings poorly built. And, we, the U.S., and our corporations played no small role ib the complex series of illegal and exploitive events that set up this ghastly tragedy.

[Kenright]

08:27 AM on 02/10/2010

Like I said before, it's Bush's fault, plain and simple.

[lionzion]

10:07 PM on 02/09/2010

The living now needs our help!!!

[GeoLee]

10:00 PM on 02/09/2010

I see there are a lot of Calvinists her tonight.

[opprobrious]

01:19 AM on 02/10/2010

They're reconnecting with their Puritan roots.;)

[peowlemeow]

08:53 PM on 02/09/2010

I'm texting or emailing more dough.Staying out of the way and helping with money feels like the best thing to do right now.

[Kenright]

09:07 PM on 02/09/2010

Me to, I faxed $100 today. I plan on faxing $100 a day for a while.

[peowlemeow]

09:23 PM on 02/09/2010

I don't have that much but media mentioning it is the reminder I needed.I sent some money the other day to the survival boxes,texted to the Red Cross,World Vision already got my booze budget cut and then UNICEF.America has a chance to make a sustainable Green city in Haiti.The possibilities to make it a learning city like education owned hospitals makes sense to me.Solar roofed mini-modular homes with plumbing and power would improve the lives of many Haitians and would be a starting point for American charitable exports.

[Trinite]

08:43 PM on 02/09/2010

All of us are going to die in some way or another. God creates us, and God takes us to Himself as He Wills. For my part, I do not question God's Will or God's Permissions, as painful as is the death of so many, although the death of one is as profound and sorrowful as the death of a million. This life is not the end. It is only the beginning. Eternity awaits, and in that Eternity is the understanding of all that now passes on earth. In that Eternity also is the everlasting Love of God for all those who love Him and one another. And that Everlasting Love is Eternal Bliss, no matter what the tragedy of our deaths on earth have been. Jesus Christ, out of Love for us, died a death for us that was most horribly painful and inconceivable, and it was the death of a criminal. Yet, He is the Son of God.
Death is a great mystery to be sure, but the greatest mystery of all is the immortality of the human soul and the Eternal Life which awaits it after death.

[isaidit]

11:09 PM on 02/09/2010

A greater mystery to me is how educated people can believe these fairy tales. Mysterious and sad.

[Killer1417]

12:05 AM on 02/10/2010

All hail His Noodleness

[Killer1417]

12:13 AM on 02/10/2010

And, BTW, Partners in Health is a darn good organization to which to contribute to help the people of Haiti.

[RationalityPlease]

08:17 AM on 02/10/2010

ramen.

[Trinite]

08:41 PM on 02/09/2010

All of us are going to die in some way or another. God creates us, and God takes us as He Wills. For my part, I do not question God's Will or God's Permissions, as painful as is the death of so many, although the death of one is as profound and sorrowful as the death of a million. This life is not the end. It is only the beginning. Eternity awaits, and in that Eternity is the understanding of all that now passes on earth. In that Eternity also is the everlasting Love of God for all those who love Him and one another. And that Everlasting Love is Eternal Bliss, no matter what the tragedy of our deaths on earth have been. Jesus Christ, out of Love for us, died a death for us that was most horribly painful and inconceivable, and it was the death of a criminal. Yet, He is the Son of God.
Death is a great mystery to be sure, but the greatest mystery of all is the immortality of the human soul and the Eternal Life which awaits it after death.

[Kenright]

09:11 PM on 02/09/2010

Wow, you stole my thunder. I was going to say the exact same thing.

[wakeup804]

09:20 PM on 02/09/2010

We don't know what is going to happen after we draw our last breath. Instead of waiting for the big payoff in the great beyond, help people now, since this is the only life we are certain exits.

[Balzac]

08:15 PM on 02/09/2010

Haiti needs the international commitment to the equivalent of the Marshall Plan. They're dependent for subsistence as well as a hand to gain independence. It is time for centuries of bigotry against Haitian culture to stop cold, and for Haiti to enjoy a level field of opportunity.

[forly16]

01:18 AM on 02/10/2010

Does it seem like any aid is getting through?
Does Haiti need food, water, and medical supplies, Or 20 plus thousand troops with big guns?
Do they not need doctors, civil engineers, and heavy equipment to clear the rubble?
This is not a war - it's a relief effort right!!!?
Are Haitians still dying due to lack of medical attention?
Why 5 Doctors without Borders planes have been disallowed to land by the U.S. military in Port-au-prince?
Why were eight flights from the other nations sent back?
Why 2 Mexican air craft with vital life saving equipments sent back?
Could Preval have sold out to the Americans?
Is it true The US has been after Haiti for over a century?
Could the American Military use aid and rescue as an excuse to occupy Haiti and set up military bases there?
Why sent 20,000 troops and only a hand full of doctors?
Could they have also withheld the food and water longenough to get looting footage for the media?
Could they have found oil and other natural minerals in Haiti?
Haiti doesn't want troop's invasion,
we don't want occupation from foreign countries
We will not end up as slaves to other nations, in the shadow of helping hand.
Did U.S went into Haiti to secure American interest?
It looks like theflag of the U.S will soon fly high over Haiti

[Balzac]

08:48 AM on 02/10/2010

Interesting questions. I would like to know more details.

[mcantwell]

07:44 PM on 02/09/2010

That's unimaginable and horrific. May their souls rest in peace.

[cbates]

07:41 PM on 02/09/2010

I' m hoping I get a chance to go and help these people as much as I can. I pray to my God through my Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ that the people of Haiti are able to recover and go forward and propser as he would have them to.

[mcantwell]

07:45 PM on 02/09/2010

Amen, Cbates.

[shutterbabe]

08:41 PM on 02/09/2010

Beautiful and heartfelt comment. Thank you, cbates.

Blessings.

[runforfun54]

07:10 PM on 02/09/2010

Horrifying ... same number in a much smaller geographic region. I wish I could understand the "greater plan" from the big guy upstairs ... such devastation and heartache.

[jtown]

07:28 PM on 02/09/2010

I hear ya. wow, simple wow.

[drjasonmd]

07:42 PM on 02/09/2010

After all this, why do you believe there's a "greater plan?"

[LennyMe]

08:45 PM on 02/09/2010

"All this" isn't necessarily proof there isn't a bigger plan. Perhaps our brothers and sisters from Haiti who are no longer with us are in a better place now. Perhaps the rest of us will be judged by how we respond to help those who are hurting there now. I'm not pretending to know why this has taken place (from a philosophical or theological standpoint), but tragedies are not conclusive evidence that a higher power does not exist. We all need each other and hopefully this will help bring us more closely together.