If you’re just booting up the intertubes this morning, you know that an enormous 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck the Caribbean island nation of Haiti last night, followed by several strong aftershocks. Much of Port-au-Prince, the capital, and the surrounding area has been reduced to mountains of rubble in the strongest quake in 200 years, and wails of the displaced and those who’ve lost loved ones echo through the streets and our TV screens. In short, the devastation and destruction are total: Docters Without Borders reports that many major hospital buildings in the area have been severely damaged, and CNN reports many government buildings have collapsed, including the Presidential Palace. Mary Turck at the Twin Cities Daily Planet has put together a good summary of where to find news about Haiti and how to send donations:

Where to find news:

• Haitain writer, human rights attorney and activist Ezili Danto reports on the earthquake in her blog, with frequent updates. I think her reporting is reliable.

• Democracy Now interviewed journalist Kim Ives and author Edwidge Danticat on the earthquake and its context.

• Daniel Morel has an incredible Twitter photo feed from Haiti at his Twitter account, photomorel

• Fairly continuous coverage comes from a variety of sources (NOT filtered or verified) from www.twitter.com/haitifeed and HaitiFeed.com

Where to send aid:

From the San Francisco Chronicle, these suggestions for relief donations:

American Red Cross (Reportedly has contributed $200,000 to Haiti relief.)

AmeriCares Help For Haiti. Goes to their International Disaster Relief Fund.

 

Doctors without Borders – not a Haiti Specific page as of this writing.

HaitiArise – HaitiArise has provided education and relief for the past six years. It’s a registered Canadian charity and reports that 100 percent of donated funds go directly to Haiti.

Haiti Emergency Relief Fund – by Vanguard Public Foundation in San Francisco. Established for Haiti before the Earthquake.

Mercy Corps – Mercy Corps’ website is devoted to the Haiti Earthquake Disaster; they’re deploying a team bound for Haiti now.

Partners In Heath – You can use the drop-down menu to specify donations to Haiti.

Yele Haiti – Wyclef Jean’s Haiti initiative to assist his native Haiti.

UNICEF – UNICEF has set up a special page for donations for the children of Haiti. In an email, UNICEF’s Alissa Pinck reports: “UNICEF’s country office in Haiti and the regional office located in Panama is on the ground and have already deployed emergency teams to assess the situation and determine what the additional emergency needs are for the people of Haiti.”