U.S. transport ship and field hospitals heading to Haiti for quake relief
Beats throwing paper towels. 
U.S. transport ship and field hospitals heading to Haiti for quake relief
The ship is carrying a fleet surgical team, 200 marines, two helicopters and a landing craft unit.
By JONATHAN CUSTODIO
08/19/2021 10:02 PM EDT
The United States has dispatched a massive transport ship and begun delivering field hospitals to Haiti after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the southwestern part of the island Saturday, crumbling homes, destroying roads and killing more than 2,000 people.
The USS Arlington, a transport dock ship, left Naval Station Norfolk, Va. on Tuesday and is scheduled to reach Haiti by Sunday, according to a spokesperson with U.S. Southern Command. The ship is carrying a fleet surgical team, 200 marines, two helicopters and a landing craft unit.
Haiti continued to reel Thursday from the earthquake, the worst since 2010, when a 7.0-magnitude quake claimed more than 250,000 likes mostly in the capital of Port-au-Prince. Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency said the death toll from Saturday’s quake had risen to almost 2,200 with more than 12,000 injured. Hospitals in the hardest-hit areas have been largely incapacitated, increasing the desperate need for more medical care and assistance, Haitian officials said.
SOUTHCOM’s Joint Task Force-Haiti planned to deliver a field surgical hospital to the southern city of Les Cayes on Thursday. It will be operated by Samaritan’s Purse, a nongovernmental organization that provides spiritual and physical aid globally. On Tuesday, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said four field hospitals were expected to be set up this week.
Since Saturday, the U.S. military has deployed three Coast Guard helicopters that have assisted hundreds of people and transported nearly 7,000 pounds of medical supplies and three U.S. Coast Guard cutters to Haiti. The U.S. also provided eight military helicopters from Joint Task Force-Bravo in Honduras.
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https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/19/us-transport-ship-haiti-aid-506342
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