Water

We take clean water so much for granted in the U.S.  We turn a faucet, and clean, pure water flows. Here, not so much. According to the CIA Factbook, less than 20 percent of the population is connected to a central water supply. And not one of those can turn on the faucet and safely drink the water. Water distribution by truck is a huge industry. The water trucked around is surface water, meaning that it was pumped from a dirty river, with only the big stuff filtered out. Many, many people carry water from a distribution point that might be quite distant from their dwelling. All of the hotels and most better homes have water pumped from a truck to a 500 gallon (or so) tank on their roof. At Gene and Jan's house, the water is chlorinated immediately, so the water is quite safe. Here at the guest house, the water is not purified, so Dottie has 5 gallon water dispensers on each floor and a pitcher in the bathroom. This water is prepared by reverse osmosis.

The earthquake did not have much of an impact on the water infrastructure, because there wasn't much to start with.

One is rarely out of sight of an entrepreneur retailing water, usually in plastic bags that seem to hold about a pint.

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Central Port au Prince that was destroyed by the earthquake.

The Presidential Palace was also destroyed. Shown is the west tower.