Earthquake in Haiti - from Oregon newspaper

Medical Teams International was whipped into a whirlwind of activity today, organizing a medical team to send to quake-devastated Haiti.
Staff members were up at the crack of dawn firing off emails. Some huddled in meetings. Others worked the phones. They solicited donations and packed up medical supplies.
By noon, the Tigard-based group had ironed out key details. It is sending a team of one doctor and three nurses to Haiti on Thursday, leaving on an American Airlines flight out of PDX International for Miami at 12:26 p.m. On Friday morning, that crew will take an 8:30 a.m. Air France flight to Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.
The 7.0-magnitude quake that hit the impoverished Caribbean nation flattened buildings, likely killing thousands and leaving many injured and without necessary services.
More from Haiti
Read more coverage from The Oregonian and see photos from The Associated Press.
Medical Teams International will provide medical help. Dr. Joe Markee and his wife Linda Markee, who's a nurse, have spent 15 years working on long-term development and providing disaster relief in Haiti, said Marlene Minor, spokeswoman for Medical Teams International.
"They go down to Haiti and work all the time," Minor said.
The couple, who are retired, even have their own group -- Haiti Foundation of Hope. But the couple will be working under the Tigard-based relief group.
The other members of the team include Anne Blaufaus, a nurse at Providence Medical Center in Portland, and Deanna King, a nurse in Washington state who had been on 14 trips with Medical Teams International.
"They're all very experienced," Minor said.
They're taking $7,000 worth of medical supplies, including antibiotics and other medicine, along with their own food and water.
Minor said the conditions in Haiti are pretty dire.
"There are immediate health needs of those who have been injured," Minor said. "In a case like Haiti where 80 percent of the people live in poverty, there's no water. There's no electricity. They don't even have a rescue team. There's no fire department. They're going to be dependent on everyone who comes in."
She said the agency is working the phones, trying to figure out where to set up in Haiti.
"One of the challenges is finding the safest place to set up in terms of securing a clean, adequate area to do medical work," Minor said.
Another challenge is actually getting through to contacts in Haiti where communications are limited.
At the same time, Medical Teams International is organizing a second team of orthopedic surgeons to send in. That group will probably leave next week.
crews could be in the Caribbean nation for some time.
"This ranks as one of the worst disasters," Minor said