Sunday, January 24, 2010
Recently, Haiti has been all over the news because of the earthquakes. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The people of Haiti have to go through struggles every day. When a natural disaster like this happens in such a poor country the results are going to be devastating. To help raise money for the people of Haiti you can donate via text message. All you have to do is text "HAITI" to 90999 and your phone company will automatically add 10 dollars onto your phone bill and send that money to the Red Cross to help offset costs of all the damage that the earthquakes are causing. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Haiti could put the death toll into the hundreds of thousands range. The earthquake was shallow, only 10 kilometers below the surface and it is said that a shallow earthquake will cause the most destruction. The earthquake took place between the North America plate and the Caribbean Plate. As of January 24th there have been 52 aftershocks with a 4.5 magnitude or greater. This earthquake with the magnitude of 7.0 is the biggest earthquake is over 200 years in this region. It is not known yet if the aftershock of the earthquake could trigger more serious earthquakes in the near future. Earthquakes are caused when two pieces of the earth's crust are moving a grinding on one another. When they rub together the stress can be released in bursts of energy that will cause earthquakes. It is not known whether the energy will cause a bunch of smaller earthquakes or one huge tremor. In the case of Haiti, all of the energy cause one massive earthquake and that is why the destruction total is so high. The Red Cross estimates the over 3 million people have been affected by this disaster. Other than the fires burning Haiti was in total darkness. All of the electricity was out in the capital city. Even Facebook is trying to help out with Haiti. There is a group on Facebook that will donate one cent to Haiti for every person that joins the group. There is already over 1.5 million people that have joined the group so even one cent per person will help out the people of Haiti tremendously. Haiti is in a very time right now and we need to help them out in any way that we can.
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Ryan, I think that the situation in Haiti is one that needs to be discussed. Your post was very informative and I learned a little more about the plates involved. It is really devastating how many people have been affected by this natural disaster and how many people are trying to help. Bringing up Facebook and texting was a great idea because the more help the better. I did not know that Facebook had a group to join that was donating a cent for each that joins’, I will join as soon as I can!
ReplyDeleteIt is unbelievable how devastating the earthquakes in Haiti are. It is interesting to read about how the media is being used to raise money for this tragedy. I did not know that you could raise money for Haiti through Facebook. Everyone with Facebook should join the group, because Haiti deserves all the help they can get. The cell phone donations are also a very good idea. It is good to read about all of these things because many people may not even hear about all the ways they can help Haiti.
ReplyDeleteThe use of Facebook and text messages has definitely made it easier for younger generations to not only be aware of what is happening but also being able to help out in any way. I myself dont watch the news as Im sure many other kids my age don't, and having these forms of media and technology made me more aware and want to help out more than I probably ever would have with just seeing stories on the news. Every opportunity for people to help is worth it and Im glad many people on Facebook have taken advantage of it.
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