Three days after a massive earthquake in Haiti left at least up to fifty thousand dead, the American Red Cross is working on a plan to relocate close to 45,000 Haitians to Florida and some 4,000 among them could be heading to Orlando.
While the plan to evacuate thousands is still evolving, Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty expressed some concern over the swelling of Orange County’s population and the associated pressure that would be placed on social services. “We’re very stressed financially right now, and this is going to add to that stress,” Crotty said. “So this is a balance we’re going to have to work on strengthening.”
However, Crotty said that it is logical that many Haitians who have been displaced on account of the killer quake would want to leave the island nation and head for the United States, and within the U.S., Florida is a logical choice. He is anticipating an influx of new residents, many depending on the federal government for support.
It is perceived that the influx of Haitians could happen quickly, over the next few days and weeks.
Some 45,000 evacuees from Haiti are likely to enter the state through Jacksonville and distributed between cities such as Tampa, Miami and Orlando.
Meanwhile, some are anticipating that the State Department would provide suitable visas for Haitians citizens evacuated to the U.S., so they might have the ability to live and work in Florida.
