Toll Could Hit 200K, Says Haitian Official

Chaos continues in Port-au-Prince, but relief is trickling in
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 16, 2010 1:03 PM CST
Toll Could Hit 200K, Says Haitian Official
Haitians cover their faces to mask the smell of decaying bodies on a street in Port-au-Prince.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Relief workers in Haiti have collected tens of thousands of bodies so far, with no end in sight. "We anticipate there will be between 100,000 and 200,000 dead in total, although we will never know the exact number," the interior minister tells Reuters. If the high end of his prediction is accurate, it would make the earthquake one of the 10 deadliest in history.

Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive estimated that 300,000 families were living on the streets, notes the Wall Street Journal. Chaos continues in Port-au-Prince, though the Red Cross says a "huge amount" of aid is en route from the Dominican Republic, along with a field hospital, adds the Guardian. Hillary Clinton is flying in on a plane loaded with aid and will meet with Haiti's president.
(More Haiti stories.)

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