US Begins Airdrops of Supplies...Haiti

Us army delivering supplies

Police confronting a gang of looters

Begging for food and water

Makeshift survivor camps offer no comfort and no water

The US had previously said airdrops might trigger riots.Now, however, the US military has begun airdropping food and water supplies into earthquake-hit Haiti. Some 14,000 ready-to-eat meals and 15,000 litres of water were dropped north-east of the capital Port-au-Prince, the US said. It had earlier said airdrops were too risky but congestion at the airport has hampered aid distribution. The US is now considering airdrops across Haiti.

More than 2,000 US marines are set to join 1,000 US troops in Haiti. They are equipped with heavy lifting and earth-moving equipment, a dozen helicopters and medical support facilities.
Their arrival comes amid widespread violence and looting. However, UN humanitarian chief John Holmes played down worries over security, saying that despite incidents of violence, the overall situation was calm. And the leading US general in Haiti, Lt Gen Ken Keen, said there was currently less violence in the capital Port-au-Prince - already a troubled city - than there had been before the earthquake.
Earlier, Gen Keen said up to 200,000 people have died in the disaster, which he said was of "epic proportions". Aid workers are starting to expand their efforts to earthquake-affected areas outside the capital, including Leogane, Gressier, Petit-Goave and the coastal town of Jacmel. '

The US Air Force C-17 dropped the relief supplies on Monday into a secured area five miles north-east of Port-au-Prince. The aircraft had flown out of Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina. Last week, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said airdrops had been ruled out because they might do more harm than good. Mr Gates warned that they could trigger riots if there was no proper structure on the ground to distribute supplies.

Delivering aid to the centre of Port-au-Prince is getting much more difficult, as anger fuelled by hunger reaches boiling point, and military escorts are needed for trucks carrying supplies.
Former US President Bill Clinton, who is a UN Special Envoy for Haiti, said co-operation between American and UN troops was improving the earthquake relief effort.
"The UN provides security and the Americans provide the logistics and

distribution. They know how to do it. So we are getting there," Mr Clinton said during a visit to Port-au-Prince on Monday.
The provision of clean water is still a major concern. Brian Feagans, of the aid group CARE, said, "People can survive a few days without food but we must try to avoid major outbreaks of waterborne disease."
Several agencies complained at the weekend about not being able to get aid through the heavily congested airport, which is being run by the US military.
But Mr Holmes said that initial issues were being resolved, with the introduction of the UN World Food Programme - which is currently feeding 100,000 Haitians - of a system to prioritize humanitarian flights. As hopes of finding survivors fade, Mr Holmes told reporters that there were now 43 search and rescue teams on the ground, with 1,700 people involved.
"More than 70 people have been pulled from the wreckage in the last few days," he said.
At least 70,000 people who died in the earthquake have already been buried.
Meanwhile, Haitian President Rene Preval has asked donors also to focus on Haiti's long-term needs.

Matt Frei, BBC News, Port-au-Prince
Looting is now the only industry here and this is the new rush hour of Port-au-Prince.
Anything will do as a weapon: a hacksaw, a stick, and of course all the machetes and guns that you cannot see.
Patience is running out and all the ingredients for unrest now exist: a whole city of destitute hoping for help, and at the same time you have a substantial criminal element and a history of violence. None of this bodes well for Haiti.
If the anarchy spreads, the US troops may soon find themselves patrolling the streets in what will look like a full-scale military operation.