Haiti Earthquake
Death toll estimated at 200,000 in Haiti quake, 61 UN staffers included in the figure
The total death toll, according to the Haitian government, is estimated at 200,000, with 80,000 buried in mass graves. And, it is being estimated that two million Haitians are now homeless.
According to the UN's International Organization for Migration, at least 500,000 quake victims are living in 447 makeshift settlements scattered in parks, streets and vacant lots around Port-au-Prince.
The United Nations also said that the number of UN staff killed in last week’s Haitian earthquake has climbed to 61 as rescuers continue their efforts to both find people alive and recover bodies from the collapsed headquarters of the UN peacekeeping mission in Port-au-Prince, the country’s capital.
The toll, based on data received by Thursday morning, comprises 23 civilian staff who worked for the peacekeeping mission (known as MINUSTAH), 24 military staff and 12 UN police officers. A World Food Program (WFP) staffer and a UN Volunteer (UNV) are also confirmed to have been killed.
UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky told journalists on Thursday that 179 other UN personnel remain unaccounted for, a number that has fallen in recent days as communications have slowly improved on the ground since the quake rocked the capital, Port-au-Prince, and nearby towns on 12 January.
The overwhelming majority of the UN staff who remain unaccounted for worked for MINUSTAH, whose headquarters in the Christopher Hotel was leveled by the quake.
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