Haiti: Recovery Will Take Years
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (CBS4) - It's been a year since a massive 7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti, killing more than 200 thousand and leaving a million and half homeless.
Wednesday morning worshippers attended services at churches throughout Haiti, praying for those who died and for hope for tomorrow. Signs of the quake's destruction are still everywhere.
Richard Morse, who runs the historic Oloffson Hotel, was in Port au Prince when the quake struck. He's called Haiti home for the last 20 years.
"The earthquake showed people what a massive effort it's going to be to bring Haiti a couple of notches up in terms of living conditions and economy," said Morse.
A year after the quake at least 800-thousand survivors still live in tent camps. The Red Cross is trying to help 30-thousand Haitians move into more secure, permanent homes. Julie Sell, with the Red Cross, said the first homes built will go to the most vulnerable people I the camps.
"Even basic building materials, like wood, have to be imported," said Sells. "But it's Haitians who are providing the labor."
The rebuilding of Haiti is a long slow process. Aid agencies have said it will take years just to bring the country up to where it was before the quake. Only about five percent of the rubble from the quake has been removed and the capital is strewn with some 20 million cubic yards of collapsed concrete and twisted steel debris, enough to fill dump trucks that would encircle half the globe.
