LONDON (AlertNet) - Children in Haiti hit by a massive earthquake risk long-term physical and psychological trauma unless they are treated quickly, as their bodies and minds are less resilient than those of adults, aid agencies warned on Thursday.
Up to two million children could be affected by the earthquake, Save the Children said. Children under the age of 18 make up nearly half of Haiti's 10-million population, according to the U.N. children's fund UNICEF.
Many schools collapsed in the tremor, which struck close to the heavily populated capital of Port-au-Prince at 5 p.m. (2200 GMT) on Tuesday, when children would have been in schools.
Some 4 million people live in and around the capital, many in shanty towns where flimsy structures are crammed together on unstable ground.
Many children have lost their parents and homes and are forced to sleep among dead bodies in the open air, aid workers and journalists said.
"Children are petrified and in danger. Many will have been orphaned or be badly injured themselves and in urgent need of medical help. Thousands more will have lost all contact with their families and friends and are now struggling to survive alone in the rubble," Gareth Owen, Save the Children's director of emergencies, said in a statement.
"They are sleeping on their own, trying to cope with the trauma of seeing dead bodies, and will have no idea where to go for help," he added.
Based on experience in other disaster zones - particularly the 2005 South Asia earthquake - the Haitian disaster could have repercussions for children far into the future, said P.V. Unnikrishnan, Plan International's disaster response coordinator.
"Evidence shows that if children are left unattended, this earthquake could lead not just to death and destruction but also to disability and trauma," Unnikrishnan told AlertNet before leaving for the Dominican Republic and Haiti, where he hoped to arrive on Friday.
"Unlike other disasters, earthquakes often lead to more fractures of lower limbs, hips and spines. Children who suffer fractures and lose mobility even temporarily tend to be more prone to psycho-social problems," he added.
Unnikrishnan said children were by far the worst hit in the South Asia earthquake and Haiti would likely be the same.
CHILDREN DIGGING FOR BODIES
Reporters on the ground in Haiti said they heard children's shrieks and sobs, and video images showed children looking at dead bodies that lay strewn in roads and by collapsed buildings, even if their parents tried to shield their eyes.
"Children mimic adults in these sorts of crises. They see grown-ups scrabbling through the debris looking for bodies, and will try to follow suit. Aside from the damage this is doing to their mental health, itÂ?s putting their safety in danger as buildings will be very unstable and may still collapse," said Owen of Save the Children.
Charities are also concerned for the safety of children after the earthquake destroyed the capital's main prison, freeing the inmates.
Save the Children's emergency response teams on the ground are preparing safe areas for children where they will be protected, have space to play and get psychological help. Other aid organisations are sending in specialists in reuniting families in emergencies and trauma experts.
But with the aid effort hampered by logistical problems, many children could be left without assistance for days. Women and the elderly are also highly vulnerable, aid agencies say.
The Haitian Red Cross said it believed 45,000 to 50,000 people had died and 3 million more were hurt or left homeless by Tuesday's quake.
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