Middle Georgians always respond when disaster strikes

Courtesy of Macon.com

The devastation is difficult to grasp. At 4:53 p.m. Tuesday, an earthquake measuring 7.0 hit the nation of Haiti. As of late Thursday, the area has been racked by 41 aftershocks measuring between 4.4 and 5.9 on the Richter Scale according to the United States Geological Survey. For a comparison the quake that hit the San Francisco bay area in 1989 that damaged the Bay Bridge and collapsed Interstate 280, killing 62 people and injuring 3,757, had a magnitude of 7.1. The statistics from the Haiti quake are staggering, particularly at this early stage of rescue. Untold injured and estimates of 50,000 deaths are repeated with the caveat that the initial count is just the beginning. More than 7,000 bodies have already been recovered and buried in a mass grave.

We could sit back comfortably, watch the gruesome pictures, and thank God that it didn’t happen in Middle Georgia, but that’s not what we do. Donations have been flowing to relief efforts. More than $4 million had been raised by Thursday via cell phone solicitation. Americans, and Middle Georgians, are riding to the rescue. So much more is needed.

Our local Red Cross has been stretched to the limit. Already running a deficit, it has had to respond to 14 fires in 14 days. While devastating earthquakes attract donations, let’s remember the everyday good work the organization does in a time of need.

— Charles E. Richardson, for the Editorial Board.