The DEC appeal has so far raised £60m for Haiti's earthquake victims The government has purchased all of the UK's available corrugated iron sheets to provide shelters for victims of the Haiti earthquake.Gordon Brown announced the move, which should help some 2,000 families, at a charity poetry reading for Haiti in London on Saturday. The 5,700 sheets cost £35,000 and were bought from the £20m the UK government has allocated to the relief effort. They will be shipped to the stricken country next week. Between 100,000 and 200,000 people are thought to have died in the devastating earthquake which struck the island of Haiti on 12 January. Up to 1.5 million people have been left homeless and humanitarian organisations fear for their safety with the hurricane season only a few months away. So far, the UK Disasters Emergency Committee's (DEC) appeal has raised £60m for the country. 'Test of humanity'Mr Brown said supplies of corrugated iron from the UK would be used to provide Haitians with "the hurricane-proof shelter that they so urgently need".[Read more...]