Latest Haiti relief information from Ottawa

According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and other sources:

The geology
– 7.3 magnitude quake at 16:53:09 on January 12th, 2010
– epicentre of quake, 15km from Port-au-Prince, 10km depth
– at least 12 aftershocks between 5.0-5.9 magnitude since
– first earthquake of this magnitude to hit Hispaniola since 1751

The numbers
– RCMP Sergeant Mark Gallagher among dead. Was on UN Peacekeeping mission.
– including Gallagher, four Canadians are confirmed dead
– 13 Canadians injured
– 550 Canadians have been located
1415 Canadians are missing
– between 50,000-100,000 Haitians dead
– one third of Haitian population (3 million) affected by quake
Catastrophic infrastructure damage in Port-au-Prince (satellite image for Google Earth)

The evacuation
– First wave of Canadian wave of evacuees landed in Montreal last night
– CF flights have evacuated 272 Canadians
– Three Canadian flights into Port-au-Prince

Deployed support and facilitation of foreign deployment
HMCS Athabaskan and HMCS Halifax en route to Haiti. Includes equipment and helicopters.
– Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney has exempted foreign nationals on non-commercial aircraft from obtained temporary visas if they are on their way to provide relief to Haiti
Canada has been refueling stop for Russian and Chinese aircraft en route to Haiti
– CF operation dubbed HESTIA

Financial Aid
– CIDA Minister Bev Oda has set up Haiti relief fund to match Canadian donations up to $50 million
– Ontario government has contributed $1 million to Haiti earthquake relief
– British Columbian government has contributed $500,000
– CRA warns donors to be informed of charities
– Staff fundraiser to be held on Parliament Hill for Haiti relief effort on January 25th at 6pm. Contact achristiano@summa.ca for details.

Canadian Reporters on the scene with Twitter
@smithjoanna (TorStar)
@jorgebarrera (Canwest)
@Stephen_Maher__ (Chronicle Herald)
@perreaux (Globe and Mail)
@althiaraj (Sun Media)
– My twitter list of reporters reporting on the Haiti relief effort (on the ground or en route)