Kiwi officers felt Haiti aftershocks

NZDF

POPULAR HELPER: Sub-Lieutenant Nick Foster in the town of Jacmel, where he helped put the roof on a shelter.

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Aftershocks that rocked Haiti could be felt on a navy ship, one of two New Zealand officers helping relief efforts says.

Sub-Lieutenant Nick Foster, of Whakatane, and Ensign Kendra Titheridge, of Blenheim, have been helping to build shelters and provide relief in Haiti while on exchange with the Canadian Navy.

In a report, Sub-Lieutenant Foster said he was on the ship Halifax, which had been preparing for an anti-narcotics patrol in the Caribbean. It was immediately ordered back to port after receiving news of the January 12 quake, which killed more than 200,000 people.

"We arrived home late the next morning and commenced a mad 30-hour stores embarkation. I returned to my home ship, Athabaskan (the Atha B). The dockyard was bustling with containers, cranes and camera crews."

By the following Tuesday the ship reached the town of Legoane, just east of Port-au-Prince, near the epicentre of the quake.

The ship's helicopter found a landing zone and the ship's boats headed for shore.

"On day one the objective was to establish ourselves ashore, make contact with the locals and identify areas where we could make a difference.

"Members of the away team helped clean up a school, set up security for a first aid centre, and provided light engineering. The crew who remained on board found themselves in frequent rotations, to cover for those who were ashore.

"The shore parties felt aftershocks all day, with one reported as 6.1. Much to our surprise, we could even feel the shocks while on the ship."

- © Fairfax NZ News