Agencies scramble to respond as scale of Haiti calamity becomes clear

What a mess !

Gaurdian U.K.
Specialist search-and-rescue teams from the US, Britain, Canada, France, Venezuela and Iceland were today scrambled to join the international relief effort in Haiti as charities launched urgent appeals ­following the devastating earthquake.

President Obama said American military planes were flying over the area to assess the damage while emergency ­supplies were being sent and rescue teams were preparing for deployment.

The US coast guard said it was sending cutters and aircraft close to Haiti to give humanitarian assistance. Last night a C-130 plane carrying part of the military assessment team landed in Haiti. A second C-130 was en route. The team is tasked with determining what resources are needed to respond to the disaster there.

A British flight carrying doctors and firefighters, as well as 10 tonnes of rescue equipment, was the first plane to take off from Gatwick this afternoon once the airport had reopened after the snow. The units, from fire and rescue services in West Sussex, Kent, the West Midlands, Manchester, Lincolnshire and Lancashire, had been mustering at the airport since this morning.

And the list goes on .