Ohio Air Guard unit dispatched

Ohio Air Guard unit dispatched

MANSFIELD, Ohio — The Ohio Air National Guard has dispatched a team from the 179th Airlift Wing to assist with relief efforts in Haiti.

Guard spokeswoman Lt. Kimberly Snow says the Mansfield-based unit, which had been stationed in Puerto Rico, flew cargo aircraft into Haiti on Wednesday after the devastating magnitude-7 earthquake hit the small island nation.

The Guard members ferried communication crews and search-and-rescue teams into Haiti to improve communication at the damaged airport in Port-au-Prince.

Text donations to Red Cross pass $5M

NEW YORK — U.S. cell-phone users have contributed more than $5 million in $10 increments to the Red Cross for Haiti disaster relief, by far the largest outpouring of support via mobile devices in history.

The response to the devastating earthquake produced the highest amount of mobile donations “that we have ever seen,” said Jenifer Snyder, executive director of mGive Foundation, the nonprofit group that is working with the Red Cross and wireless carriers to channel the donations.

To donate to the Red Cross, mobile users are texting the word “Haiti” to the number 90999. Snyder said the money is coming in at a rate of roughly $200,000 an hour. As of Thursday afternoon, people had donated $5.1 million.

New USAID chief tackles response

WASHINGTON — Five days after being sworn into his new job, Rajiv Shah found himself in the White House Situation Room, seated four chairs from President Barack Obama, and overseeing the U.S. government’s response to the earthquake that has devastated Haiti.

As Obama’s designated “unified disaster coordinator,” the 36-year-old doctor has been working furiously to deploy relief workers, brief Cabinet secretaries and serve as a public spokesman for the administration’s rescue and recovery efforts — all while on just a few hours of sleep and an untold number of Diet Cokes.

Shah, the newly minted USAID administrator, has wowed the White House and State Department in his maiden turn in the spotlight, with top officials in both departments praising his steady leadership and command of the evolving operations in Port-au-Prince.

Survivors face outbreaks of diarrhea, measles, malaria

Survivors of the earthquake in Haiti face deadly outbreaks of diarrhea, measles and malaria after the country’s already fragile clean water and health-care systems were destroyed.

Even before the bodies of the dead have been removed from the rubble, health officials say, it’s critical in the next few days that massive containers of water be set up throughout the capital of Port-au-Prince, temporary treatment centers established and tons of antibiotics and basic medical supplies delivered.

Haiti has long suffered from the highest rates of malnutrition and lack of access to basic health services in the Western Hemisphere, according to the World Health Organization.

Quake victims begin arriving at Fla. hospital

MIAMI — Injured survivors of Haiti’s devastating earthquake have begun arriving in South Florida for treatment.

The University of Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital has already received 11 patients, including eight U.S. citizens. Trauma surgeon Mark McKenney said Thursday that the injured were coming in waves, and nine more patients were expected later that day.

McKenney said doctors already have performed an amputation and are treating a brain injury. He says six of the patients were in good to fair condition and four remain in critical. McKenney said doctors at Jackson Memorial are considering using a satellite phone system to better assist doctors treating the injured in Haiti.

Senators want to lift limits on donations

WASHINGTON — Some senators are trying to encourage charitable donations for Haitian earthquake victims by proposing a temporary increase in tax benefits for relief contributions.

The changes would be similar to those enacted after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005.

Under current law, individuals cannot apply tax write-offs to donations that are larger than 50 percent of their annual income. Corporations cannot apply write-offs to donations larger than 10 percent of their income.

Combined dispatches