Seattle group has team in Haiti to help island nation recover after huge quake
SEATTLE -- After a massive 7.2 magnitude earthquake shook Haiti this weekend and left an estimated 1,300 people dead, a relief organization based in Seattle said Sunday that it has already dispatched crews to the troubled island nation to help with the recovery effort.
Crews spent Sunday searching for survivors amid the rubble of collapsed buildings and homes.
World Concern, based in Seattle, has a team on the ground in the country to help it rebound from the devastating quake.
“Right now, the emphasis is on search and rescue and making sure that trained people can get in there (and) save people who are currently stuck in rubble,” said Maggie Konstanski , director of disaster response for World Concern, which has had a team in Haiti for years.
In 2010, the group said it had crews on the ground after the country was jolted by another massive earthquake.
The organization is looking towards the future with a goal of not only helping communities recover but to return stronger.
“Looking at what things were vulnerable in construction, even in terms of where houses were built and looking at how we can build back in a way that’s safer and stronger," Konstanski said. "So this doesn’t happen again the next time an earthquake happens. We’re moving as quicky as possible into that recovery phase, and trying to build back better as well."
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