Recent earthquakes in other countries put on alert to Panama, and governmental authorities announced immediate action to improve the country's ability to respond. Following a meeting at the headquarters of the National Civil Protection System (SINAPROC), headed by its Director Arturo Alvarado, in which also participated the Minister of the Presidency, Jimmy Papadimitriu, among other authorities, a training program for local governments was established. Alvarado explained Panama should improve its readiness, because earthquakes cannot be accurately predicted, which makes it necessary to verify both government and private infrastructure. They will also conduct inspections to unsure those skyscrapers under construction are prepared to resist a natural event of this magnitude. In the meeting it was established to give $20 million dollars to the Fire Department, for the purchase of equipment, and to improve education and training so they will be better prepared to react to any natural event. The training will begin in communities, schools and universities. In addition, the government will begin an evaluation of each of its buildings, and will request the Municipal government to stringently enforce requirements for the issuance of building permits. (Source - TVN Noticias)
By DON WINNER for 
PORT AU PRINCE. Amid the smell of death, despair, hunger, and looting miracles still occur after the earthquake in Haiti. Yesterday the group of Panamanian rescue workers from the SINAPROC, working together with similar units from the Dominican Republic, managed to save the lives of a 70 year old woman and her 19 year old son, who were trapped in the rubble of the building where they lived. Another miracle occurred when dogs from the Panamanian team located another person who was trapped in a collapsed building who was also saved. Of the thirteen Panamanians who were reported missing, ten have returned to Panama and the other three are still being unaccounted for. (Source: La Estrella)
Thirteen Panamanians are missing as a result of last Tuesday's earthquake which shook the ground and left Port-au-Prince in ruins. The charge d'affaires of Panama in Haiti, Eufenio Taylor, Panama's only authority in the field, has a small piece of paper tucked into his shirt pocket where he has written the thirteen names. Four are tourists and the others are Panamanians living in the different neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince. Some of them arrived as employees of Digicel, who is using Panamanian technicians expand their communications infrastructure. "The truth is we do not know where they lived, and things are difficult. I'm doing everything I can but there is no electricity, no telephones and, moreover, there is nothing left of the Panamanian Embassy, it collapsed completely," said Taylor. Taylor came to Imani, a border town on the Dominican side of the country, to receive the Panamanian rescue workers sent by the Panamanian government to join in and assist the efforts of other international relief agencies who are tirelessly working to search for and assist survivors. The Panamanian team has been traveling for two days, and they bring with them an aid package that contains food and water, as well as rescuers, firefighters, three coroners, canine units and other Panamanian volunteers. The arrival to the Haitian capital has been complicated due to the situation on the ground. The 22 Panamanian breathe anxiety, in arriving at the disaster area. In the capital city they have already opened six common graves to remove the corpses from the streets. Things were bad enough in the capital city. But yesterday, 72 hours after the earthquake, that which was feared started to take shape. Haitians began to get desperate and they started looting what is left standing in the city. There is even talk of the fear that international aid can be targeted. Some of the injured were taken to hospitals in the Dominican Republic. The horizon is so bleak that the most optimistic talk about 50% of infrastructure destroyed. (Source: GUIDO BILBAO for La Estrella)
A UNICEF cargo plane carrying medical kits, blankets and tents desperately needed by quake-devastated Haitians attempted to land in Port-au-Prince today, but was unable to do so for unknown reasons and returned to Panama where UNICEF has been gathering emergency supplies. It was symbolic of a frustrating day as the United Nations and its international partners geared up relief efforts after Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon gave the order to release $10 million from its central emergency fund. U.N. plans were hampered by Haiti’s fractured infrastructure and the death of dozens of its own staff members working in Port-au-Prince. “It’s really a logistics nightmare,” said Dr. Paul Farmer, a Harvard medical professor and U.N. deputy special envoy to Haiti. “Implementation is the hardest part: getting the stuff to the people who really need it.” Farmer, who has worked in Haiti for 27 years, said the capital's commercial port is “basically shut down,” thwarting efforts to bring in supplies by sea. Air traffic is backed up, with planes jockeying to land in a minimally functioning airport. U.N. officials, including former President Bill Clinton, now the U.N. special envoy to Haiti, gathered in New York today to make strategic decisions on international rescue and relief efforts. U.N. officials are trying to coordinate with Haitian counterparts as to what should land first from the outpouring of choices: medical supplies from the United States, or search and rescue teams with specially trained rescue dogs from Germany. (more) (Source: Los Angeles Times)
By DON WINNER for 
(BBC) International efforts to help Haiti in the wake of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake are under way, with governments across the world and aid agencies mobilising search and rescue teams and aid supplies. Although the full scale of the disaster has yet to emerge, it is clear that it will pose a huge challenge. Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, is still struggling to recover from devastating hurricanes in 2008. It needs all kinds of help, from emergency and medical aid, to food aid, to the longer-term rebuilding of infrastructure. Congressman Eliot Engel, chairman of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, said the earthquake was a "devastating punch to a country that has suffered so much and will obviously need much international aid and need it quickly". The US government quickly announced a range of measures to help Haiti. The US Coast Guard said it had "mobilised cutters and aircraft to positions in close proximity to Haiti to render humanitarian assistance as needed". The US agency for international development (USAID) is sending a search and rescue team of at least 72 people and six dogs. Haitian communities across the US, including south Florida where an estimated 275,000 Haitians live, are also organising donations and relief efforts. Several international aid agencies have offices and staff in Haiti, usually working on long-term aid and reconstruction. It is already evident that this is an extremely serious situation, the long-term effects of which are going to need substantial support. As news of the quake emerged, these organisations began to mobilise their emergency response teams. Oxfam says it has staff ready, including a public health, water and sanitation team in the capital, Port-au-Prince. A spokeswoman said the organisation also had emergency supplies in Panama, which could be brought in. 
Despite their best efforts, thus far no one has been able to locate or contact the charge d'affaires of Panama in Haiti, Eugenio Taylor, the Panamanian Foreign Ministry confirmed this morning. So far only seven Panamanians have been located, and they have been evacuated to the Hotel Le Blanc, near the Haitian capital's airport. Panama's Vice President and Foreign Minister, Juan Carlos Varela, said the first shipment of humanitarian aid will depart Panama on the first Copa airline's flight since the earthquake, which will depart Panama at about 12 noon today. (Source: Panama America)
