Panic

Looters Take to Streets

Without proper aid, Port-au-Prince could be consumed by rioting.

Troops have arrived in Haiti and are beginning to distribute aid, but looters with machetes will continue to roam the streets, running the risk of riots, as "long as the people are hungry and thirsty," said Brazilian Defense Minister Nelson Jobim. Corpses are rotting in the sun, and although the 10,000 U.S. troops deployed to Haiti took control of the airport and are distributing the mass quantities of aid there, the people remain angry and frustrated. At least 50,000 people have been killed, according to Haitian officials, and 1.5 million are now homeless. As civilians wait for more aid, looting and fighting over resources has been rampant. "Men suddenly appeared with machetes to steal money," said one witness. "This is just the beginning."