PHOTOS, PAGE 1

       Editor and prime reporter is Doug Terry, a veteran television and radio reporter in   Washington, DC, (details below)

It will take all of today and, more likely, the next few days before we have a full awareness of the devastation and death in Haiti. It is always a mistake to rush to judgment in disasters with an early estimate that is too low or too high, because the rescue and recovery efforts need to be calibrated more carefully for the situation.

Yet, as of 9:30 AM 1.13.10, this much the TerryReport can say: Haiti is going to need everything we have available. The most critical needs over the next few days, aside from rescuing those trapped, revolve around medical care for the injured and food and water for those displaced. The probability is that thousands have died, but the immediate need is to help the living.

I have surveyed the video and photo coverage that is beginning to emerge from Haiti and the disaster looks all but total in some sections of the Haitian capital. . The question of the death toll depends on many factors: 1. How quickly did the buildings fall? Was there any time to get out? 2. Coming just before 5 PM, how many people were inside the buildings? (School students were reported to be on their way home.) 3. Since there aren’t a lot of tall building in Haiti, it is likely that the death toll from fall debris would be less there than in a city like San Francisco, where tall buildings line the streets and falling concrete and other materials could hit people and cars trapped on the streets.

The fact that so many Haitians live in small, poorly built structures could actually work in their favor: there is less material to fall down on people in a shack or similar abode. With overcrowding, however, it would be more difficult to get out and, once outside, some neighborhoods are so jammed with people and buildings that there wouldn’t be much space to get away from falling structures.

Overall, the signs point to a very significant loss of life, perhaps in the thousands. An eight story building behind the Oloffson Hotel, the best known hotel in Port au Prince, was said to have collapsed immediately. The United Nations office building was also reported down, as was a hospital (this is unconfirmed).

Keep in mind that the psychological shock of an event like this distorts the view that emerges. Eyewitnesses are obviously feeling that shock and are not skilled in making careful damage assessment.  It could be revealed, perhaps over days, that the destruction looks more devastating that it really is. Yet, the images coming from Haiti point to a much harsher result, with many, perhaps hundreds of  people most likely trapped in the rubble.

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