 David Darg (left) with Eric Lotz from Operation Blessing |
Rescue teams have arrived in the Caribbean to join the relief operation in Haiti.
British aid workers are among those involved with helping victims of Tuesday's earthquake.
Emerson Tan from MapAction, David Darg from Operation Blessing International and Stuart Coles from children's charity Plan International, share their diaries with BBC website readers.
 Stuart Coles is travelling to Haiti with children's charity Plan International |
The Dominican Republic has given us a false sense of security. Haiti would not like to be described as its poor neighbour, but the contrast is stark.
The nearer we inch towards Port-au-Prince, the worst the damage. It is a drive through hell - I try to focus on filming as we pass bodies lying where they fell on the street, coffins being carried and buildings being levelled by bulldozers. We don't know if there are still people inside as we pass.
We meet with our local Plan Haiti colleagues, who explain their experiences and what they have been doing. While handing out vital food, shelter and hygiene kits, they have been dealing with their own personal trauma and loss.
We know the psychological impact on children will be huge and hidden, it is visible in the strained faces of adult colleagues.
Our next target is to help the people of Jacmel, a coastal town of some 150,000 people where reportedly 65% of homes are badly damaged, away from the glare of the media.
US Army helicopters constantly deafen out our emergency meeting but everyone knows the military presence is vital in this landscape with no open shops or banks. There are fears of looting and there's a desperate need for more help soon.
 The smell of death lingers in Port-au-Prince. Picture: David Darg |
We're in - after a long struggle, we were finally able to get two seats on a plane.
As soon as we ventured into Port-au-Prince, we were met with horrific scenes of injured Haitians lining the pavement, desperate for medical attention.
Many Haitians are wearing coverings over their mouths and noses to hide the pungent smell of death that lingers in the air.
In the heat people are desperate for water. We saw small children bathing in and drinking from a muddy puddle. As the desperation amongst the survivors grows, so does the anxiety and frustration.
Some people are also carrying belongings along the streets in suitcases or on their heads, there seems to be quite a migration of people from what is left of the city.
This has been one of the most difficult launches to a disaster that I have experienced but the delays at the airport are a sign that the world is reaching out to Haiti like never before.
 Medical centres have sprung up in the capital. Picture: David Darg |
The Spanish rescue team that we have been shuttling into the quake zone came back with disappointing news that they had only found dead bodies today. Most rescuers are now suggesting that due to the intense heat it is very unlikely any more survivors will be found.
We are gearing up for emergency food distributions at medical clinics staged out of a damaged primary school.
I just ate a US military ready to eat meal and hope to sleep soon. My mat and sleeping bag on the hangar floor will not be too uncomfortable but huge cargo planes roaring down the runway just a few hundred yards away might make it for another long night.
Communication in every sense is proving to be the essential issue in Haiti.
While tens of thousands of people await help - trapped, injured, dying - speed is the issue.
Our flight is packed with aid teams from across the globe; doctors, technicians, firemen, communications specialists, from France, Germany, the UK and quake-prone countries like Mexico, Italy, Turkey.
All ready and desperate to get to Port-au-Prince and help. They are given rounds of applause from the crew and tourists on the flight as we touch down.
But their job is anything but easy.
Cancelled flights, the levelling of UN and other organisations and infrastructure has created a massive barrier through which this vital pipeline of aid must flow.
Frustration can easily mount on all sides faced with such difficulties.
I spend the flight talking to a German surgeon who expresses near anger at the 'disaster waiting to happen' that is Port-au-Prince building regulations and the house of cards that came down upon its inhabitants.
He is a Handel-loving, chess fanatic - just the kind of calm presence you need in these kind of situations, but he, like all, doesn't know how and when he will reach the target zone.
We discuss children. I explain Plan's need to reach these most vulnerable sections quickly and keep them protected.
We wait among teams of Italian sniffer dog teams, literally straining at the leash to get going. Our Plan colleagues in the Dominican Republic will now set off to join the growing convoy that is reportedly queuing up at the border.
Meanwhile our staff in Haiti are working flat-out, reaching the most in need. Pushing aside their own traumas and losses, pain and fear, to do their professional best.
Plan has a 30-year respected history in Haiti - but it will need much more help, money and resources in this most desperate of hours.
AFTERNOON:
We're in and it's very busy. Some order is coming to the rescue operations. Lots of people are still trapped. All the teams are deployed often minutes after unloading their kit, racing against time in the heat. Could do with some cool weather here.
MORNING:
Unable to land at Port-au-Prince due to overcrowding. Circled for 15 minutes before fuel forced us to head back to the Dominican Republic.
All air ops are suspended until they can turn stuff on the ground around.
We're putting pressure on the US who are running stuff on the ground. Dog teams (who need to be in first) are very annoyed.
I'm in the Dominican Republic and exhausted after another night of travel and little sleep.
Aid workers and news crews have been pouring in from all over the world and the airport has been a mad house of teams trying to fly into Port-au-Prince as soon as they can.
 Hundreds of planes are trying to get to Port-au-Prince. Picture: Eric Lotz |
I was hoping to be in Haiti by now, but flights were suspended this afternoon because of congestion at Port-au-Prince airport. There are hundreds of planes trying to get into the Haitian capital, but the temporary air traffic control system just hasn't been able to keep up.
Apparently there are men with clipboards keeping track of the planes circling the airport and men on quad bikes guiding the aircraft into the limited parking space once they land.
One light aircraft pilot I spoke to in Santo Domingo had to call in an emergency landing this morning after circling Port-au-Prince for 45 minutes and running short of fuel.
Fortunately, I have been able to secure a seat with one colleague on a four-seat Cessna leaving at 6am. Many television crews and aid workers have been refused passage because they had too much equipment or luggage, and many are having to make the difficult decision of whether or not to split up and go in smaller groups.
My colleague, Eric Lotz, has been at Port-au-Prince airport all day working to offer Operation Blessing logistical support in the transport of relief goods and rescue teams.
We have teamed up with a search and rescue team from Spain and will be transporting them deep into the quake zone and back again tomorrow evening. They have arrived with four specially trained sniffer dogs and will spend the whole day looking for survivors amongst the sea of rubble that is now Port-au-Prince.
 The Spanish team has brought specially trained sniffer dogs |
In desperation, many aid groups and media teams are choosing to hire drivers and travel overland to Port-au-Prince from the Dominican Republic. Two photographers I spoke to this evening are leaving at 2am and driving through the night, a move that many would consider extremely dangerous at the best of times.
I have been hearing reports of a sea of Haitians at the Dominican Republic border desperate to get across for medical treatment.
I'm relieved to be on a flight in the morning and now off to try to catch a few hours' sleep in anticipation of some extremely long hours tomorrow.
I'm part of a team of volunteer aid workers stuck at Gatwick airport trying to get to Haiti. It seems the weather here is adding to the problems.
There are four of us from my group, MapAction, and then over 70 rescue specialists. The sniffer dogs are here as well.
We provide mapping and information for all the aid agencies. We go in to a disaster area and make assessments on where and what aid is needed.
We work out how much damage has been done and where survivors might be. We can build a picture for everyone else. Other agencies can then allocate resources.
Haiti is extremely poor and a lot of its buildings are badly constructed. Strangely though, the shacks are where more people are likely to survive. The building materials are lightweight and survivors can get out more easily.
At the moment, the rescue efforts will be localised with friends, neighbours and family trying to get to survivors. It takes time to mobilise heavy equipment and so it will take a bit longer before we see the larger scale operation get going.
I feel frustrated that we're stuck here because of the snow but there's not a lot I can do about it. I'm actually looking forward to the long flight because it will be my last chance to get a decent amount of sleep for what may be over a week once I land.
I feel some excitement and some trepidation but I feel very prepared. It will be traumatic.
I was in Haiti less than a month ago working with our Port-au-Prince based project coordinator, Eric Lotz. Operation Blessing had been asked by President Clinton's office of the UN envoy to carry out an assessment of the sewage system at the national hospital in Port-au-Prince.
 Operation Blessing workers at the hospital in Port-au-Prince. Picture: Eric Lotz |
On 12 January, we began to pump out the sewage so we could get to the broken pump.
Eric and I exchanged several messages over our Blackberrys over the course of the morning. At 1149 he sent through a photograph he took with his phone of the clean up crew shovelling the sewage. Then at 1450 Eric sent another message about the work he was doing. That was the last message I received from Eric that day.
The next message I received about Haiti was from the US Geological survey at 1712. I glanced at the email and was shocked at the subject line: "2010-01-12 21:53:09 (Mw 7.0) Haiti region". I was even more concerned that the message said the earthquake's epicentre was Port-au-Prince.
 Earthquake damage. Picture: Eric Lotz |
I immediately tried to call Eric but nothing happened. One early report was that a hospital had collapsed in Port-au-Prince. Knowing that Eric was at the hospital I was extremely concerned. I tried calling him many times but just could not get through.
After 24 hours we finally received word that Eric was alive. He had fled from the crumbling hospital and then walked eight miles through death and destruction to get home. His family are all alive but his home was destroyed.
I'm currently in Miami, in the morning I am flying into the Dominican Republic and from there will join colleagues for the long drive to Port-au-Prince. Once I arrive I will be coordinating relief efforts, efforts which are likely to last for a very long time.
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