Tragedy In Haiti: Latest on the Quake -- HOW YOU CAN HELP

**Update Tuesday, January 26, 2010 10:00pm**

Battle for aid in Haiti still chaotic

Brazilian troops occasionally fired pepper spray and trained their guns on the crowd. Some people left without getting food because they were afraid of the pepper spray and guns, or the thugs who grabbed food from some who received it.

Meanwhile, with tents in short supply, the competition for them is becoming violent. There have been arguments and machete fights among people hoping to get one of the canvas homes on a dusty soccer field in the capital. One woman says a relief group offered her two tents for 21 survivors -- but she ended up putting everyone in one tent after
people threatened to burn both of them down unless she gave one up.

**Update Tuesday, January 26, 2010 3:30 p.m.**

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - One Haitian earthquake survivor says of the relief effort, "The help is good but the way they're doing it is bad." He says it's "anarchy" as crowds jostle for food being distributed near Haiti's National Palace.
Brazilian troops occasionally fired pepper spray and trained their guns on the crowd. Some people left without getting food because they were afraid of the pepper spray and guns, or the thugs who grabbed food from some who received it.
Meanwhile, with tents in short supply, the competition for them is becoming violent.
There have been arguments and machete fights among people hoping to get one of the canvas homes on a dusty soccer field in the
capital. One woman says a relief group offered her two tents for 21 survivors -- but she ended up putting everyone in one tent after
people threatened to burn both of them down unless she gave one up.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The State Department says the number of U.S. fatalities in the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti is nearing 100.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters Tuesday that confirmed U.S. deaths now number 60, and another 37 Americans were killed but their identities have not yet been officially
established.
Crowley said the department has yet to account for about 4,000 U.S. citizens who have been the subject of inquiries by family members or others since the quake.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says she resents criticism of the U.S. effort to help earthquake survivors in Haiti.
Speaking to State Department employees today, Clinton denounced those who attack the way Americans have responded.
She said "some of the international press" had misunderstood or mischaracterized the civilian and military response.
Clinton wasn't more specific about the source of the criticism. But last weekend, the aid group Doctors Without Borders complained about misplaced priorities and a supply bottleneck at the airport in Haiti -- amid reports that U.S. military flghts were getting preference.
And French, Brazilian and other officials complained about the airport's refusal to let their aid planes land.
Over the weekend, an Italian official says the U.S. military operation in Haiti was inefficient and out of touch with reality on the ground.

HAITI-EARTHQUAKE
UPDATE: Some signs of normalcy amid quake recovery

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - A few signs of normalcy are popping up in Haiti's capital, two weeks after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake.
The United Nations says Haitian commerce is increasing, as banks, supermarkets and gas stations begin returning to operation.
That's even as hundreds of thousands of people camp out in Port-au-Prince, among an estimated million left homeless by the Jan. 12 quake.
Haiti's president is issuing a global appeal for hundreds of thousands of tents to shelter the homeless. People have been spreading out across empty lots, parks and plazas under the burning tropical sun.
Plans are under way to build a tent city outside the capital. In solidarity, President Rene Preval is pledging to move into a tent home on the lawn of his collapsed palace.
Also today, the U.N. is describing the capital as generally secure, though there has been some isolated looting. In another promising sign, there's word today that more police officers are reporting for duty.

**Update Monday, January 25, 2010 10:35pm**

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - There's been a disturbance near a camp housing Haitian earthquake survivors.

U.N. peacekeepers from Uruguay today fired pepper spray to try to disperse thousands of people jostling for food aid. Some people fled, but some young men in the crowd weren't
deterred, and surged forward to grab bags filled with pinto beans and rice. The bags bore U.S. flags. It's not clear if anyone was hurt.

The U.N. reported over the weekend that food aid has reached 500,000 people at least once since the quake, but that as many as 2 million are in need. Hundreds of thousands are living on the streets of the capital under anything they can find that can serve as a roof and walls.

**Update Monday, January 25, 2010**

A Greenville church is gathering supplies to send to Haiti.
Lifepoint Church is asking the community to donate baby food, baby formula, blankets and non-perishable food now through February 5th.
You can make the donations at:
Christian Publishing House Ambassador International
427 Wade Hampton Blvd.
Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm
or Saturday 10am to 2pm.

**Update Monday, January 25, 2010**
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - The devastating earthquake has left Haiti's capital with too few places for people to sleep.
The United Nations estimates up to a million people -- one out of every nine in the country -- will need to find new shelter. Hundreds of thousands are living on the streets of Port-au-Prince under plastic sheets, bed linens or whatever they can salvage. One of the homeless says "we live like dogs."
Aid organizations say they are collecting tents, but there's not much evidence of that so far.
The International Organization for Migration says its warehouse has 10,000 family-size tents, but 100,000 are needed. And the agency says it could take weeks to find suitable sites for enough
tent cities to accommodate everyone.
Haiti's government is encouraging the homeless to leave Port-au-Prince and seek shelter elsewhere. Officials estimate that about 235,000 have taken advantage of free transportation out,
while others have fled on foot.

**Update Saturday, January 23, 2010**
Haiti Government Declares Search And Rescue For Earthquake Victims Over
GENEVA (AP) - The United Nations says Haiti's government has declared the search and rescue phase for survivors of the earthquake over.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says 132 people were pulled from the rubble alive by international search and rescue teams. Spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said Saturday that humanitarian relief efforts are still being scaled up in the capital Port-au-Prince, Jacmel, Leogane and other areas affected by the Jan. 12 quake.

**Update Friday, January 22, 2010**
Local Candlelight vigil scheduled for Saturday for Haiti earthquake victims.
It will start at 6 p.m. at the Haitian Wesleyan Church
501 E. Butler Road, in Mauldin

**Update Thursday, January 21, 2010**

CARING FOR THE CAROLINAS HELP FOR HAITI TELETHON FRIDAY:

News Channel 7, WYCW, and the American Red Cross, will partner for the Caring for the Carolinas Hope for Haiti telethon beginning at 6am Friday during Daybreak, and lasting until 8pm. Jack Roper will host the telethon from the News Channel 7 studios. Volunteers will staff phone lines throughout the day for you to call and donate to the American Red Cross. The money raised will be used to assist relief efforts for those devastated by the earthquake, helping provide food, water and medicine. Stay tuned to News Channel 7 and WYCW all day Friday for your opportunity to help.

THE LATEST FROM HAITI:

**Updated Friday, January 22, 2010**
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - A coast guard cutter based in South Carolina is helping get the port in Port-au-Prince open so more supplies can be delivered to Haiti after last week's devastating earthquake.
The Coast Guard says its cutter Oak, a 225-foot buoy tender based in Charleston, worked with Navy Seabees and Navy divers on Thursday to place a buoy to direct vessels to the one operational pier in the port.
The Oak remains in Haiti as it works to open more shipping lanes into the harbor.

NEW: Woman found alive after ten days in rubble

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - A sixty-nine year old Haitian woman
has been pulled from the rubble 10 days after Haiti's killer
earthquake, but a doctor treating her says she is in bad condition
and may not survive.
Dr. Ernest Benjamin tells The Associated Press that "There is
very little hope, but we are trying to save her life." Doctors are
treating her at Haiti's General Hospital after she was freed from
the rubble Thursday morning, giving her oxygen and intravenous
fluids.
It was not clear exactly where she was freed, but doctors say
the site is near the capital's soccer stadium.

UPDATE: U.S. Embassy overwhelmed by requests to leave

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - The U.S. Embassy in Haiti is
overwhelmed with people trying to flee the earthquake-ravaged
country.
The embassy today turned away hundreds of people who wanted to
get on planes that had dropped off aid. Scores of U.S. citizens
were given passes, but many were told to return later.
Aid officials say about 200,000 people have fled Port-au-Prince
-- by bus, ferry or foot. One report says at least half that number
has fled to Gonaives (goh-nah-EEV'), a city of about 280,000 that
is still recovering from back-to-back hurricanes in 2008.
The Haitian government estimates last week's massive quake
killed 200,000 and left two million people homeless.

Extensive port repair needed

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - U.S. military officials in Haiti
say damage to the only functional industrial pier in Port-au-Prince
is so extensive they don't know when it will be able to handle
large aid shipments.
The U.S. Army, Navy and Coast Guard are trying to patch up the
pier, where only four ships have been able to dock.
Fifteen-inch-wide cracks mean only one truck can work at a time.
And the port's cranes are damaged or destroyed.
One businessman says he won't risk his workers so he'll move to
another port, which is at least 12 hours from the capital over bad
roads. He says that means his prices will soar.
No fuel tankers have been able to land at the badly damaged main
oil terminal at another port. That has forced gas stations to
depend on tankers driving in from the neighboring Dominican
Republic.

**Updated Thursday, January 21, 2010**
Homeless tally up, as rescue work continues

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - The Haitian government has upped
its estimate of people left homeless after last week's earthquake
from 1.5 million to two million.
The estimated death toll remains the same, 200,000. Some 80,000 people have been buried in mass graves so far. More mass graves are being carved on a hillside north of Haiti's capital.
More than a week after the quake, hopes are dimming that anyone could still be alive in the ruins. But a 5-year-old boy was found Wednesday in the wreckage of his home. He was dehydrated, but apparently otherwise OK.
For those needing medical care, experts say there are 12-day waits. The experts worry about untreated injuries festering, and disease breaking out in makeshift camps.
The head of the World Food Program is scheduled to visit Haiti Thursday.

***Updated Wednesday January 20 2010 11:00p.m.***
French ship brings supplies, delivery of basics still lacking

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - A French landing craft has brought a medical team, hundreds of tents and other aid to Port-au-Prince,
Haiti.

The vessel also offloaded pallets of bottled water and prepared meals at the city's quake-damaged port. U.S. Army divers have surveyed the soundness of the main pier,
which was damaged by lastl week's earthquake. The pier has damage down its center.

A working port would help ease the congestion that has plagued operations at the small airport at Port-au-Prince. Aid arriving from around the globe is still slow to make it from the airport to desperate survivors just miles away. U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes says it's believed that 3 million people are affected, with 2 million of those needing food
for at least six months. Holmes says deliveries by the U.N., Red Cross and other private aid groups are providing a half-million Haitians with "reasonable quantities of food. He says that's "very far short of what's needed."

***Updated Wednesday January 20, 2010 11:54 a.m.***
Aftershock loosens rubble from damaged buildings
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - More rubble is falling from Port-au-Prince's earthquake-damaged buildings following today's powerful aftershock. There's no word on the extent of new damage or injuries. The magnitude-6.1 temblor was the largest of the more than 40 significant aftershocks that have followed the massive January 12th quake. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered about 35 miles west-southwest of Port-au-Prince -- a little further from the capital than last week's epicenter. Agency geophysicist Bruce Pressgrave says nobody knows if a still-stronger aftershock is possible. Pressgrave says aftershocks can die out very quickly. But he says they could go on for weeks or months as the earth adjusts to the new stresses caused by the initial quake.

More ships on the way, hospital ship gets first patients
NEW DELHI (AP) - The U.S. military is sending additional ships to help with earthquake recovery in Haiti, including one that could remove debris blocking the main port. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has signed orders sending a port-clearing ship with cranes to Port-au-Prince. It would remove debris that is preventing many larger ships from docking, holding up the delivery of vital food and other relief. Gates, who's in India, says the ship could help get the port
back in operation within a week or two. Meanwhile, the Pentagon says the hospital ship USNS Comfort has received its first Haitian patients. A 6-year-old boy and 20-year-old man, both severely injured, were flown by Navy helicopter from the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson to the hospital ship as it streamed toward Haiti. The nearly 900-foot floating hospital is expected to arrive near Port-au-Prince today. The Comfort left Baltimore on Saturday, carrying about 550 medical staff and about 60 civilian mariners.

***Updated Wednesday January 20, 2010 7:15 a.m.***
6.1 Magnitude Quake
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - A strong earthquake has hit Haiti, shaking buildings and sending people running into the streets. The U.S. Geological Survey says the preliminary 6.1 magnitude quake hit at 6:03 a.m. (1103 GMT) Wednesday about 35 miles (56 kilometers) northwest of the capital of Port-au-Prince. It says the quake struck at a depth of 13.7 miles (22 kilometers). AP reporters in the Haitian capital say the temblor sent scores of people fleeing into the streets. The pacific tsunami warning center said the earthquake was located too far inland to generate any tidal waves in the Caribbean.

***Updated Tuesday January 19, 2010 10:00pm***
Some air drops being used to deliver relief supplies
WASHINGTON (AP) - When the U.S. military first arrived in Haiti in the aftermath of the quake, officials ruled out the use of air drops to put relief supplies directly into the hands of desperate quake survivors. But some exceptions are being made. In some cases, large swarms of people have kept helicopters from landing -- and troops have been forced to drop water bottles into populated areas instead of distributing them on the ground. A spokesman for the military mission in Haiti says the plan is still to put troops in charge of handing out supplies once they're on the ground, instead of dropping them by air into city centers. Yesterday, troops secured a field 1,800 yards long, so that a C-17 could drop 15,000 liters of water and 14,500 meals. Officials say the troops have distributed those rations to the population. Some 800 Marines moved ashore today in Haiti, ferrying supplies on helicopters and Humvees as the U.S. military force there swelled to as many as 11,000.

***Updated Tuesday January 19, 2010 6:16p.m.***
Relief flights are leaving from the Charleston, South Carolina Air Force Base to Haiti every few hours. Cases of water are shipped in and then shipped out on C-17s. Clean drinking water is one of the most needed items in Haiti. The Air Force says planes will continue to fly relief missions as long as there is a need. News Channel 7 Jonathan Carlson is on one of those flights. It is expected to stop at Pope Air Force base in North Carolina before flying into Haiti. Jonathan is planning to bring updates as soon as possible on the air and here on wspa.com. See pictures here.

***Updated Tuesday, January 19, 2010 12:00pm***

More US troops arrive
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - U.S. troops keep arriving in Haiti, and they're being greeted with cheers from some survivors of last week's earthquake. Navy helicopters carrying several dozen troops landed on the grounds of the damaged presidential palace today. One Haitian says he's so happy to see the Americans, he doesn't care if they stay longer than they did in 1915. U.S. officials, however, say they don't plan another 19-year military presence in Haiti. The U.N. Security Council also is expected to approve additional peacekeeping forces. Pockets of looting and violence in Port-au-Prince are hindering aid delivery. Some residents are banding together to protect what possessions they have left. As one young man puts it: "We never count on the government here. Never."

UN approves extra troops and police for Haiti
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. Security Council has unanimously approved 3,500 extra troops and police officers to beef up security in Haiti and ensure that desperately needed aid gets to earthquake victims. The resolution adopted unanimously Tuesday by the U.N.'s most powerful body will add 2,000 troops to the 7,000 military peacekeepers already in the country and 1,500 police to the 2,100-strong international police force. U.N. peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy said the extra soldiers are essential because of the "tremendous" number of requests to escort humanitarian convoys. He said the U.N. also needs extra troops to secure the routes using, and for "a reserve force" in case security deteriorates further. Le Roy says the additional international police are needed at
every point where food and water are being distributed.

Military to use more runways for Haiti aid effort
WASHINGTON (AP) - Working to get more relief aid into earthquake stricken Haiti, the U.S. military says it will begin using two additional airports in the next two days. Army Major Gen. Daniel Allyn, second in charge of the military operation in Haiti, says a runway in the town of Jacmel will open for C-17 flights in 24 hours. Another field in the neighboring country of the Dominican Republic will also be used, though the timing remains uncertain. Allyn says officials are working to build up their ability to move more aid into the country despite major damage to ports of entry caused by the quake.

NEW: France salutes 'essential role' of US in Haiti
PARIS (AP) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy (sar-koh-ZEE') says the U.S. is playing an "essential role" in helping Haiti recover from last week's earthquake. Sarkozy is trying to smooth over any tensions caused by comments from one of his ministers who compared Washington's aid efforts to
a new occupation of the impoverished nation. The cooperation minister yesterday demanded a U.N. investigation as he accused the U.S. of giving priority to its own military and relief flights ahead of other nations' aid flights. Sarkozy says he's "fully satisfied" by the cooperation between the U.S. and France. The president praised the "exceptional mobilization" of the U.S. on Haiti's behalf. A U.N. spokeswoman says without the U.S. military, the Port-au-Prince airport wouldn't work.

Haiti quake creates thousands of new orphans
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - Aid groups say tens of thousands of children have been orphaned by Haiti's earthquake. The United Nations Children's Fund says that, even before quake, Haiti had 380,000 orphaned children. Some lost parents in past storms or floods, while others were abandoned by parents who sought asylum in the U.S. The United States government is making it easier for Haitian orphans being adopted by Americans to enter the U.S. A flight carrying 53 Haitian orphans has landed at Pittsburgh International Airport. They will be placed in group homes until their adoptions are finalized. The Dutch government sent workers today to try to locate and evacuate 100 children already being adopted by Dutch parents. About 50 children are being taken to group homes in the Dominican Republic.

Donating to Haiti Relief Could be Tax Deduction
Donating to Haiti Relief Effort Could be a 2009 Tax Deduction A bill expected to be introduced in Congress would allow U.S. taxpayers to deduct donations to Haiti earthquake relief on their 2009 tax returns. Leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee said a proposed measure would let contributions between January 12th and February 28th count on your 2009 taxes instead of having to wait until you file your 2010 taxes.

***Updated Monday, January 18, 2010 9:45pm***

More food delivered
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - U.N. officials say more than 73,000 people in Haiti have received food to last a week. But many more still wait. And even people whose houses survived are often living outside, because of the fear that unstable buildings could collapse in aftershocks. The European Union says about 200,000 people may have been killed in the quake. The E.U. is quoting Haitian officials who say about 70,000 bodies have been recovered so far. Six days after the Haitian earthquake, bodies still lay in the streets of the capital. But Haitians have made progress in hauling many of the bodies away for burial or burning. People have been seen dragging corpses to intersections in hopes that garbage trucks or aid groups would arrive to take them away. Meanwhile, dozens of rescue crews are still working to try to find people alive under piles of concrete and debris.

***Updated Monday, January 18, 2010 11:45a.m.***

UPDATE: Line of People at Embassy Wanting Out of Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - As more troops, doctors and aid workers flow into Haiti, people are lining up at the U.S. embassy hoping to get out. Hundreds of American citizens, and people claiming to be from the U.S., are outside the embassy in Port-Au-Prince waving their identification papers, hoping to get on a flight out of the earthquake ravaged country. The Pan American Health Organization estimates between 50,000 and 100,000 people died in the earthquake six days ago. The local director of World Food Program says her group is planning a tent camp for 100,000 people on the outskirts of the capital to provide shelter to at least some of the homeless earthquake victims. Frustration over the slow delivery of food and medical supplies is on the increase in the streets of the capital. Financial pledges continue to grow, with the European Union pledge today topping $500 million, and France saying it's willing to forgive Haiti's debt of more than $55 million.

US ambassador: Haitian Restlessness Manageable
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - More U.S. troops are due in Haiti today -- and the U.S. ambassador there says they will be backing up Haitian police and U.N. personnel, rather than replacing them. Kenneth Merten acknowledges to NBC that the security situation in Haiti is "obviously not perfect." A fear of attacks on aid convoys is one factor keeping aid from reaching many of the victims of last week's quake. Merten said the Haitian police force has been unavoidably "degraded" by the catastrophe and the U.N. force has suffered losses. Asked about possible violence among desperate survivors, Merten said, "We're concerned about it and we're monitoring it closely, but I don't think it's anything that's unmanageable."

NEW: US Soldier Born in Haiti Asks to Leave Afghanistan
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) - A Haitian-American soldier now serving in Afghanistan is awaiting word on whether he'll be transferred to his family's quake-ravaged home country. Lieutenant Ramses Brunache says he'll do anything to help out, from serving as an interpreter to helping clear away debris. Brunache's sister is among the thousands who died in the earthquake six days ago. A brother has reassured him that their mother survived the ordeal. Brunache's superior officers are trying to get him assigned to a military police battalion being deployed out of Fort Brag, North Carolina. He grew up in a poor suburb of Port-au-Prince, the child of an American mother and Haitian father. He moved to the United States in 1998 and joined the military soon after. He was among the soldiers who helped clean up after Hurricane Katrina before being deployed to Kuwait, and then to Afghanistan.

UPSTATE NATIVES IN HAITI

***Updated Monday, January 18, 2010 11:45a.m.***
Greenville Minister Returns from Haiti
An Upstate minister has returned home safe and sound after surviving the earthquake in Haiti. A large crowd applauded and sand a hymn as Dr. Frank Garlock walked through the doors at GSP Sunday night. Shelly Hamilton says this was the moment she had been praying for since Tuesday. “There’s nothing more wonderful when something is so sad and heavy weighs on you and then everything is okay and your loved one is alright.“ Dr. Frank Garlock cried when he saw his family and church members. “I probably won’t for to sleep for awhile. I’m going to hug this gal forever and I this one too,“ he said about his wife and daughter. Dr. Garlock says the U.S. Military is doing a good job in Haiti but the need is still great. “We met a little boy at the airport, eight years old, and he said my daddy died in my house,“ he said crying. 79 year old Garlock plans to leave on Friday for a trip to Mexico to minister to people there.
Click here to watch the video.

***Updated Friday, January 17, 2010***
Church Holds Service
Haitians from across the upstate came together for a special prayer service at the First Haitian Mauldin Evangelican Wesleyan Church on Sunday morning. They gathered at the Mauldin church and prayed for loved ones and fellow Haitians who have lost their lives in last weeks devastating earthquake, while also praying for those who are still missing and in need. News Channel 7 was told that nearly every person who was in attendance lost a loved one or still had family members they have not heard from since last Tuesday. “We have to give them encouragement in the word of God,“ said Pastor Patrick Gue. ‘We know that God is there in Haiti and here and he is very compassionate. He loves us, even if we have earthquake in Haiti.“ Sunday’s service was comforting for many, who had no where else to turn in what has become one of the most deadly natural disaster’s in history. “This is a place you can come and praise God and be united in faith,“ said Sammuel Jean, a member of the church. “With the people that are suffering that are going through the same suffering with you.“ To help members of the church and Haitian residents affected by the earthquake, you can contact the church at (864) 297-1682.
Click here to watch the video.

***Updated Friday, January 15, 2010***
Mission Team from Erskine College is Safe in Haiti
Three members of the Erskine community were in Haiti during Tuesday’s earthquake, and officials have received word they are safe. Dr. Steve Lowe and
his wife, Dr. Mary Lowe, were leading an Erskine Wellness/Main Street United Methodist Mission Team. Also on the trip was seminary student John Paul Marr of Due West. The mission group was in Les Cayes, a rural town about 90 miles from Port-au-Prince. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti Tuesday toppled buildings and killed tens of thousands of people. It’s the most powerful to hit the impoverished Caribbean state in more than a century. Dr. Steve Lowe, Dr. Mary Lowe, and John Paul Marr were expected to arrive back in South Carolina Friday, but they have been delayed.

***Updated Thursday, January 14, 2010***
Local Man Who Raises Orphans In Haiti Finds Out They Are Alive
Relief, after a Western North Carolina man who cares for orphaned children in Haiti, learns they are alive, after the orphanage sustained damage. Webby Williams thought the 15 children he cares for at his Haitian orphanage could be dead. The orphanage is only 5 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake. From his Rutherford County home he got the good news in a long awaited phone call. "I could just see the building collapsing on all of them--it was my worst fear." Luckily that fear didn't become a reality. He says it was a blessing they were not hurt. Williams was in Haiti just two weeks ago and plans to go back as soon as he can to be with the children.

***Updated Wednesday, January 13, 2010***
Upstate Pastor Living In Haiti Survives Quake
A former Upstate pastor, living with his family as missionaries in Haiti, are among the survivors, after a 7.0 earthquake rocked the island nation Tuesday. Inman native Harry Peart and his family are living in a town about 90 miles outside Haiti's capital. The pastor moved his wife and four kids there from Inman more than a year ago, to help establish churches and schools on the Caribbean island. In a phone interview, Peart says when the earth shook--he felt it. "It was horrifying. We had a really big shake--the house was shaking--vehicles outside were shaking--you could feel the earth just moving under you're feet," he said. Peart continued, "You could hear the rumbling of the earth. People all up and down the street were screaming and hollering." The damage near the Peart home was not as severe as the damage near the epicenter of the quake. The Peart family has relatives in Inman and Rock Hill. The family says they have been fielding calls from concerned family and friends since the quake happened. The family's home church is Liberty Baptist Church in Inman. The pastor of that church saying he and the congregation there were relieved to learn the Peart family was ok.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Clinton Bush Haiti Fund

American Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development

Text "Haiti" to 90999 to Donate $10 to the Red Cross. The money will be deducted from your phone bill.