Adaptation and Overcoming Obstacles in Austere Environments: Lessons from the Haiti Earthquake

Haiti Earthquake Response – January 2010

On 12 January 2010, at 16:53 local time, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastated Léogâne and areas approximately 25 kilometers west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. The death toll rose to over 230,000, according to on-ground reports. Our team, based out of the Bronx, NYC, deployed to assist with search and rescue operations and provide lifesaving medical care.

All our equipment was packed in heavy-duty travel cases and loaded onto the aircraft bound for Port-au-Prince (PAP). However, upon arrival, we discovered that not only had our critical equipment not arrived, but our personal luggage was also missing.

Port-au-Prince, Haiti January 2010

Day 1: In-Country Operations Begin

K9 Cassius and his handler faced the same issue with missing equipment. We scrambled to find provisions for Cassius, whose nose would prove to be the difference between life and death for those trapped under the rubble. Through bartering and teamwork with other responders, we secured food and basic supplies for the K9. Members of the 82nd Airborne provided MREs and medical supplies, forming a valuable partnership that would later contribute to live rescues and on-scene medical interventions.

As we were being briefed at the PAP hospital logistics tent, frantic cries of “Legliz la te tonbe” (“The church has collapsed”) erupted from the locals. Our team was tasked with searching for survivors and requesting additional resources. Despite our limited supplies, we double-checked our med bags, irons, axes, and hydraulic equipment. Missing from our kit were our Talon 2 litter and vehicle straps.

We were ordered to mobilize immediately. A hospital-provided vehicle with a non-English speaking Haitian driver transported us through mangled streets littered with rubble, whipping power lines, bloodstains, and bodies barely recognizable in the destruction.

On Scene: The Church Collapse

The dust was still settling as we arrived. The cries and pleas of desperate families filled the air. K9 Cassius immediately began working the debris field. Search zones were established, and within minutes, we encountered a severely injured male in his early 30s. A large crucifix from the collapsed church steeple was embedded in his abdomen. A piece of sheared steel had caused evisceration and bilateral mid-shaft femur fractures. Fortunately, the steel provided a tamponade effect, preventing massive hemorrhage.

A Haitian surgeon working with us established IV access, and we applied tourniquets to both legs. As we worked, our vehicle driver vanished, and our radios failed to transmit back to logistics, leaving us isolated.

Despite the chaos, our team pressed on. One team member flagged down and paid the driver of a passing pickup truck. With no litter, we improvised. Using a halligan and axe, I removed a door from a nearby partially collapsed building. The patient was stabilized, log-rolled onto the makeshift door-litter, secured with rope, and carried approximately 20 meters to the truck.

The truck bed became our ambulance. We successfully transported the patient to PAP General Hospital. That salvaged door became a makeshift sign welcoming incoming teams and stood as a symbol of resilience and resourcefulness amidst devastation.

Author Francisco Bermudez and a member of the US Army 82nd Airborne