The Salvation Army’s initial assessment team landed in Haiti at Cape Haitian last night and is on their way to the capital city Port-au-Prince! You can read our latest press release at The Salvation Army’s national website HERE.

Major Tom Louden and his team drove three hours Thursday night on treacherous roads severely damaged by the earthquake, saying their car shook constantly as they could only travel on average up to 20mph on the torn up streets.

They reported having to dodge holes in the road the size of “semi trucks,” trying carefully not to get too close to the edge of the cliffs where there were no guard rails for protection.

Major Louden described Haiti looking as if it was hit by a bomb – houses are destroyed everywhere, and people are walking around aimlessly, spilling over into the streets and preventing traffic from being able to pass through. Major Louden said he has never seen anything like this in his life. Imagine – already seeing such destruction when he and the team aren’t even to Port-au-Prince yet, which was much closer to the earthquake’s epicenter and suffers even more damage.

As the team hopefully arrives in Port-au-Prince soon, another team from The Salvation Army left for Haiti from Ft. Lauderdale this morning at 7am, along with a plane full of cargo. We are praying they will be able to land in Port-au-Prince and administer aid and supplies as soon possible.  Art Stevenson from Ft. Lauderdale is serving as their pilot. We’re incredibly thankful for the blessing he is in helping to get our teams to Haiti.

To stay updated on what The Salvation Army is doing, be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

You can also donate through:

• Online Credit Card Donations and PayPal

• 1-800-SAL-ARMY

• Text ‘HAITI’ to 52000

• Postal mail at:

The Salvation Army World Service Office
International Disaster Relief Fund
PO Box 630728Baltimore, MD 21263-0728
*Please note that your donation is for Haiti Earthquake relief*