It was Tuesday, 12th of January, when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake occurred that devastated the country of Haiti. The death estimate was about 316,000 which is considered to be one of the deadliest earthquakes of all time and caused $14 billion. This situation is personal for me because I was in the Dominican Republic visiting my family and felt and experienced the earthquake that shook the whole island of Hispaniola. Haiti lacked a great amount of resources such as food, water and medical equipment to handle the amount of people who were affected by this natural disaster. More information about this earthquake can be found in this CNN report on the Haiti Earthquake
President Obama immediately assembled different U.S. agencies to create a relieve effort to help the Haitian people and country. Supplies were sent from different nations through the Port-au-Prince (Haiti's capital) and Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic capital) while different measures were used to help the with this disaster. The first step involved in managing this crisis was to search and assistance with rescuing anyone who is missing or in need; including equipment used to lift heavy item and assisting with medical supplies. The second step was to address the need of medical supplies, shelter, sanitation, food and clean water. Having a poor sanitation plan of action can increase the death toll because the chance of the spread of diseases and illness can increase dramatically. The third step was setting and maintenance the infrastructure of operations within the country. Information bases on this article: Haiti Earthquake:Crisis and Response
Overall the 2010 Haiti Earthquake did indeed abide by the six rules of crisis management because the necessary steps were used to help the people of Haiti in various ways. Many nations sent help to Haiti but the overall factor of this relief aid was the fact that the necessary steps were taken to solve different problems that involved anything from food, medical and the actual infrastructure of the country in order for the citizens and the country itself to maintain themselves.
I understand how you feel. My family is from the Dominican Republic as well and we contacted them as soon as possible when the earthquake hit Haiti. The way Obama held his position and immediately helped a country in need is the perfect way of how one should manage in a tragic event. The fact that he sent supplies and gathered other nations to help out another country in need.
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