Numbers Don't say Enough

7.0

Magnitude

50,000

Bodies collected

100,000 - 200,000

Suspected dead

2 million

Children affected

They're striking statistics, but they don't tell you anything about the shock and fear as the earthquake struck Port au Prince on Tuesday 12th January. They don't describe the ongoing situation with more bodies being turned up every day, people sleeping on the streets or in tents. People too afraid to leave incase their loved ones turn up.

3-4

Weeks until the wet season begins

Amongst the rest, this might seem like an unimportant fact. As soon as the wet season begins, the diseases endemic to the area, which have already been exacerbated by this disaster, have the capacity to spread out of control. Survivors, particularly the children, will have to run the gauntlet of malaria, hepatitis A and E, pneumonia, typhoid fever, japanese encephalitis..the list goes on. Bodies are being piled into mass graves or onto bonfires partly to try and cushion the almost unavoidable impact these diseases will have, particularly towards the epicentre which is proving hard to reach.

$360million

Aid pledged so far

3000

UN Troops and police

9000-10,000

US Troops

100

Tonnes of relief supplies

13

Lorry loads of bottled water from the Dominican Republic

15

UN food distribution points

26

International rescue teams

But these numbers don't reflect the logistical nightmare that the aid effort is facing in Haiti. Haiti is the 4th poorest nation in the world, and as such, 80% or the population of Port-au-Prince lives in poorly constructed shanty towns. Even in the city, none of the buildings were constructed to withstand an earthquake...as is illustrated by the destruction of the Presidential palace, and the UN Headquarters.

Roads are blocked, the port is badly damaged, and the airport is struggling to cope with the influx of international traffic, some aircraft filled with aid staff and supplies have already been turned away.

Getting aid to the country is a relatively easy job, but distributing it to the people who actually need it, despite every effort being made, is happening more slowly than we would like.

4000

Prisoners unaccounted for

50

Arrests made

5000

US troops earmarked for saving lives that might have to be seconded for security

As if death, injury, disease and malnutrition weren't enough, the survivors of the disaster are now suffering at the hands of armed gangs who are trying to loot those houses that remain standing, stealing money and property.

So those are just some of the numbers, that's the situation somewhat condensed down into little digestible factoids, but all you have to do is read the papers, surf the internet or watch the television to realise that this doesn't go even part way towards describing what those people are going through, and what their families here and across the world must be feeling.

One final number:

70077

Text 'GIVE' to this number to donate £5 to the Haiti Earthquake appeal.

£5 plus normal SMS charge will be added to your bill

Thanks, and my heart goes out to everyone affected and involved.

Information care of BBC News

British Red Cross

Medecins Sans Frontieres