Governor General Michaelle Jean, who was born in Haiti, held an emotional news conference Wednesday afternoon saying, “We know that every minute, every hour, can make a difference and draw a line between life and death.”

A large Boeing C-17 was to leave this morning ( Thursday ) loaded with humanitarian supplies. The HMCS Halifax and the Destroyer HMCS Athabaskan will also be sent to Haiti once they are loaded with humanitarian supplies.

On Wednesday a CC-130 Hercules left, with Canadian Forces personnel, to assess the situation. There are about 700 ‘ registered ‘ Canadians ( the number could actually be much higher ) living in Haiti…and all those at the Canadian Embassy in Port-au-Prince have been evacuated to living on the Embassy lawn as a precaution.

Since 2006 Canada has provided, or was/is in the process of providing, prior to this tragic event, $136 million dollars to Haiti for road construction, boats, health care, education, technical assistance, building construction, and disaster preparedness.

For more information see: The Earthquake Disaster in Haiti

Photo of the Canadian Embassy in Haiti courtesy of: flickr.com

Article courtesy of: Canadian Relief Efforts in Haiti

A few facts before we get to the tragedy, that is being well covered by others already…and just so we’re all on the same page…Haiti is in the Caribbean, and comprises the western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, due west of the Dominican Republic, which comprises the rest of the island.

This is Haiti:

in total it is slightly smaller than the State of Maryland, and a population of around 9 million.

It is, in fact, a very beautiful island as you can see from this photo:

a virtual paradise by the look of it. However approximately 80% of the population lives below the poverty line.

Today this island paradise was hit by a devastating 7.0 earthquake that has killed, estimates run as high as 10% of their population, almost 100,000 people.

Bodies were piled along the streets, entire neighborhoods were destroyed, the President’s Palace, hospitals, schools, even the main prison reduced to rubble.

Just last April Donor Nations had pledged $324 million over the next two years to facilitate economic recovery of the poorest Nation in the Americas.

Haiti was, and is especially now, in desperate need of relief, if you can help it would be greatly appreciated by the Haitians and the relief workers and agencies providing this much needed assistance.

However, as always, I caution you to be very careful who you donate to, these types of tragedies have a way of bringing out all the parasites that feed on other people’s misery.

It is always best to give to a local relief agency that is well known and trusted.

Some that I would suggest would be:

•The American Red Cross is pledging an initial $200,000 to assist communities impacted by this earthquake. They expect to provide immediate needs for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support. They are accepting donations through their International Response Fund.

•UNICEF has issued a statement that “Children are always the most vulnerable population in any natural disaster, and UNICEF is there for them.” UNICEF requests donations for relief for children in Haiti via their Haiti Earthquake Fund. You can also call 1-800-4UNICEF.

•Oxfam is rushing in teams from around the region to respond to the situation to provide clean water, shelter, sanitation and help people recover. Donate to Oxfam America online.

•The UN World Food Programme is gathering all available resources to deliver food to the recently homeless and impoverished in Haiti. Baptist Haiti Mission is operating an 82-bed hospital that is “overflowing with injured.” Donate online to BHM and 100% of your donation will go to the relief effort.

Relief donation information provided by Haiti Earthquake Relief: How You Can Help – Yahoo! News

Photos courtesy of fs.huntingdon.edu and photoatlas.com
some data obtained from CIA – The World Factbook — Haiti

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Article found here : The Earthquake Disaster in Haiti

And reprinted with permission of: TAZ: TheTAZZone Network - Welcome to Internet Chaos: 960+ Games; Security, Networking, and General Tutorials; IRC Chat; and an Active Forum Community

Devastating storms, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other disasters happen or can happen here…we are not immune as this storm and the ice storm and other disasters have proven in the past.

This is why it is important that we have in this Country of ours a disaster relief fund set up to handle these types of emergencies. Also a listing of volunteers in the area that we can access for distribution and clean-up.

Please help the CYIC create a better way to combat disasters when they strike…so that we aren’t left out in the cold or in a too little too late situation.

Donate to the CYIC, donations can be made directly to the CYIC on this website via Paypal, or by check payable to Children and Youth In Crisis…and post a comment stating you’d like to be available to volunteer in times of Crisis.

About 120 seriously damaged homes in Vaughan had to be evacuated, said York Region Fire Chief Greg Senay.

The powerful storms overturned vehicles, lifted roofs off homes and pulled air conditioners out of windows.

The storm gradually lost some power as it crossed the eastern part of Ontario. Late Thursday night, the last tornado watches for the Kingston area were dropped by Environment Canada.

Severe thunderstorm warnings remained up for an area stretching from Pembroke to Ottawa and Brockville.

An estimated 69,000 Hydro One customers were reported to be without power in the wake of the storms, while Toronto Hydro said an unknown number of its customers were without power due to multiple outages.

Ontario storms kill 1

A massive storm cell is ripping through the GTA, with multiple reports of tornado touch downs outside the city, resulting in at least one confirmed fatality in the town of Durham, Ontario.

Early reports also indicate a tornado touching down near Vaughan Mills and cars having been flipped on highway 400 as well as tornadic activity in the city of Toronto itself, but these have yet to be confirmed as the storm continues to move eastward. Reports, photos and videos have also lit up on twitter throughout the evening.

Massive Storm Hits Toronto, Tornados Reported Across GTA

Revenue Canada Charitable Registration Number: 81007 9541 RR0001

Disaster Relief and Canada: Protecting the Home Front

introduction

Disaster can strike at any moment, and in many cases, with little or no advance warning; the CYIC is mandated to assist and provide relief when you and your family need it the most. Be Warned! Be Safe! Be Prepared!
Floods, Fires, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Ice Storms, Earthquakes, Meteorite Showers, Hail Storms, Landslides, Volcanic Eruptions, Blackouts, Blizzards, Nuclear Disaster, and even Terrorism, are all disasters that have occured in Canada within the last 100 years or have the potential to occur in the next 100 years.

In the News

disaster news headlines

Scientists, diplomats to finalize report on impact of climate change

Scientists, diplomats to finalize report on impact of climate change

Climate change could threaten the lives of hundreds of millions of people in the decades to come, according to a draft of a major report.

“We are going into a realm the Earth has not seen for a very long time … over the past 800,000 years,” said Camille Parmesan, a University of Texas biologist who reviewed the upcoming report.

About 285 delegates from 124 countries are meeting in Brussels with more than 50 of the scientists who
compiled the report. As governments will use the report to set policy, the final wording must be adopted by consensus among the diplomats, with the approval of the scientists.

Report on Global Warming

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Link Exchanges

educating the public of the dangers of man-made and natural disasters

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Donating Supplies, Time, Services, to the CYIC

educating the public of the dangers of man-made and natural disasters

protecting canadians in the wake of crisis situations

Volunteering with the CYIC

educating the public of the dangers of man-made and natural disasters

Volunteering your time with the CYIC

first response initiative

protecting canadians in the wake of crisis situations

Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To ensure that philanthropy merit’s the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors can have full confidence in the non profit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare all donors have these rights:

protecting canadians in the wake of crisis situations

The CYIC is making the transition from a fundraising drive charity to a membership charity and with your help we can make that possible. By making this transition  we would greatly reduce our need to rely upon the old methods of fundraising which are often seen today as being  intrusive or annoying to many people. With as little as 4000 members we can almost, or virtually, eliminate our reliance on those old methods.  One such old method ( telemarketing ) has already been shelved. We do not solitict funds over the telephone as we find this is probably the most intrusive and annoying fundraising practice. Help us to meet the needs without those antiquaited methods of raising funds by becoming a CYIC Member.

CYIC Memberships

educating the public of the dangers of man-made and natural disasters

The CYIC has a variety of Memberships available to meet the needs of every potential contributor. We have Corporate Memberships, Sponsor Memberships, Donor Memberships, and Affiliate Memberships. Being a Member of the CYIC is a great way to be a part of an organization and participate by not only financially supporting the CYIC but also assisting in offering your advice and your expertise in the special Member-only section of our forum. For more information on Memberships please contact the CYIC administration of this website or the CYIC Head Office through the Contact Information available on the main page.

Members are welcome to download and use the CYIC tags associated with their membership.

Membership Goals

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protecting canadians in the wake of crisis situations

In Canada we often don’t think much about disasters, after all, they don’t happen here. Actually, they do. Canada has over 1200 earthquakes a year in both Western and Eastern parts of our country; we also have hundreds of dormant and extinct volcanoes; and every year Canadians experience over 80 tornadoes, second only to the USA. The potential for disaster, along with climate change, is very real and very disturbing.

Hurricane Hazel

educating the public of the dangers of man-made and natural disasters

October 15th, 1954  Hurricane Hazel reaches winds of 110km/hr and drops more than 200 millimeters of rain in less than 24 hours on Southern Ontario. Homes and trailers were washed into Lake Ontario, streets and bridges were washed out, 81 people were killed and thousands were left homeless.

The Edmonton Tornado

first response initiative

Reaching speeds of 420km/hr on July 31st, 1987 a tornado rips through Edmonton and Strathcona County killing 27 people, injuring hundreds, and destroying more than 300 homes and causing more than $330 million dollars in proprty damage.

Calgary Hail Storm

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On July 24th, 1996 Calgary experienced the second severe hail and rain storm in 8 days. Hail the size of oranges clogged sewers and caused massive flooding.

The Problems in Manitoba

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