Clinton: Too soon to estimate Haiti casualties
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday the United States and the world must do everything possible to help Haiti surmount its “cycle of hope and despair.”
Appearing on morning network news shows after cutting short an overseas trip, Clinton said it’s still too early to make a firm estimate of the number of deaths in the wake of Tuesday’s devastating, 7.0 magnitude earthquake. But she said officials know that approximately 3 million people, including 45,000 Americans, have been affected and that “tens of thousands, we fear, are dead.”
>>PHOTOS: Frantic rescue effort in Haiti | Deadliest recent earthquakes
President Barack Obama, who earlier announced a wide-ranging U.S. assistance and relief effort, planned another public statement from the White House later Thursday.
Clinton noted that the small Caribbean country was still recovering, with help from Washington, the United Nations and other countries, from the damage wrought by last year’s storms, saying a key challenge now is to “get people back into some semblance of normalcy.” She called Haitians “resilient people” and said no one is giving up on them.
Before the earthquake, Clinton said, “We had a full government effort under the Obama administration to really help the people, and we were making progress. ... This is devastating on every level.” She said the United States will do “everything we can to help this country rebuild.”
In another interview, Clinton said, “We are doing all we can to figure out how to attack the devastation all around and this is going to be a long-term effort,” from saving lives and providing food, water and medical supplies, to beginning the reconstruction process.
“The 82nd Airborne is getting to Haiti today, the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson will be on the horizon soon, the Coast Guard has performed magnificently in helping to evacuate the injured, particularly American citizens,” she said.
“We have a full court press going on here at the president’s direction,” Clinton added. “This is a devastating catastrophe, just to figure out what steps to take so we don’t make the situation worse ... This is incredibly complex work. We have some of the best people in the world from the United States down there and we’re just going to do everything we can to be helpful.”
Clinton advised people worried about relatives living in Haiti to call a special information number at the State Department — 1 888 407 4747, which is the operations center there.
Of the damage in Haiti, Clinton said “the depth and scope is unimaginable.”
She appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” CBS’s “The Early Show,” and NBC’s “Today” show.
>>PHOTOS: Frantic rescue effort in Haiti | Deadliest recent earthquakes
>> LIVE: Twitter coverage of the scene in Haiti, from aid agencies, and reaction worldwide
>> VIDEOS: Latest videos from Haiti and on LI
>> MORE: Read more about LIers grieving and LI's efforts to help | Latest news from Haiti | Haiti's road to chaos: 2006 Newsday series
HOW TO HELP
* You can help immediately by texting "HAITI" to "90999" and a donation of $10 will be charged to your cell phone bill and given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts.
* Wyclef Jean, a rapper and hip-hop artist from Haiti, urged people to text "Yele" to 501501 to donate $5 toward earthquake relief. Yéle Haiti is a grassroots movement inspiring change in Haiti through programs in education, sports, the arts and environment, according to its Web site.
* The State Department Operations Center has set up the following number for Americans seeking information about family members in Haiti: 1-888-407-4747. The Red Cross has also set up a Web site to help family members find and contact relatives.
* You can also go online to organizations such as the Red Cross and MercyCorps to make a contribution to the disaster relief efforts.
Other Web sites accepting donations include:
-Haitian Health Foundation
-Hope for Haiti
-UNICEF
-International Medical Corps
-Beyond Borders
-AmeriCares

Things to do now on LI Rock climbing? Indoor beach volleyball? Water parks? Arts and crafts? NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday deputy lifestyle editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at ways to spend your winter break.

Things to do now on LI Rock climbing? Indoor beach volleyball? Water parks? Arts and crafts? NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday deputy lifestyle editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at ways to spend your winter break.