In the morning of Jan. 12, musician, writer, and hotelier Richard Morse ’79 was using Twitter to communicate with friends and send updates for fans of his band, RAM. But by evening, his posts took on a much more serious tone as Morse, his family, and guests of his Port-au-Prince hotel, the Hotel Oloffson, coped with the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti.   In the days that followed, Morse posted frequent updates of news from his city, his brief accounts touching on the unspeakable sights, smells, and sounds around him. At the same time, he tried to connect people with their loved ones and hosted journalists who were covering the ongoing crisis. More than 11,000 Twitter users, including major media, followed Morse’s tweets (@RAMhaiti).  Here are some of his many dispatches, which began an hour and a half after the quake. With a few exceptions for the sake of legibility, they are presented as they appeared.

Tuesday, Jan. 12, evening:  

were ok at the oloffson..internet is on !! no phones ! hope all are okay..alot of big building in PAP are down !  

another aftershock..people are screaming and freaking out down towards the stadium..much singing and praying in large numbers

we’re ok.. freaked out but ok

Wednesday, Jan. 13:

People are calm, trying to help each other... ­others are visiting people to see if they are ok...some are digging bodies out of buildings

I see bodies in the street. I see bodies buried in rubble. there are going to be food, medical supply and water issues.. decomposing bodies

I heard some roosters and some birds in the trees this afternoon..first time since yesterday.. Journalists r checking into the hotel

Bodies are being put by the side of the Canape Vert road so friends and relatives can come pick them up

I saw no priests at the St Gerard Church, a few people out front, some nuns, I saw lifeless legs in the rubble

I hear help is coming....tomorrow

I saw a collapsed building today..it may have been 8 or 9 stories. it looked like 8 or 9 pieces of bread one on top of the other. survivors?

I’m trying to find a positive point of view and all i can come up with is: a lot of people didn’t die.

Port au Prince is quiet tonight. I’ve never heard such a big city so quiet..I assume everybody is sleeping outside somewhere..

I look at the sky, see the stars, and it’s as if nothing was wrong. the singing, the praying and the siren bring me back to reality..Haiti

Thursday, Jan. 14:  

we slept out under the stars tonight..PortauPrince was very quiet. the suffering isn’t loud. no ­shooting. at some point people will need help

The last time my guests all slept together was when the Haitian army was shooting journalists after the election massacre of Nov. 1987

Bodies. Bodies. Bodies Bodies. Bodies. Bodies. I don’t know how else to say it. They’re being brought out on the street.

Friday, Jan. 15:  

what to do, what to do, what to do with all these bodies that are starting to decompose. people are starting to wear masks

Sat., Jan. 16:

Will Haiti start anew? That’s the question of the day? What’s the direction? Same direction as last year? No one seemed to like that path

WHO’S IN CHARGE?

Sunday, Jan. 17:

There is a huge mass grave to the north of   PauP called TiTanyen.They used to bury ppl there ­during times of repression.

Monday, Jan. 18:  

The Oloffson looks like a refugee camp for journalists.So many people working and sleeping in the yard.I'm taken aback.I've never seen this.

Tuesday, Jan. 19:

No true sense of what's going on yet. Some have gotten used to living with the smell of rotting corpses

Wednesday, Jan. 20:  

Yes there was another Quake. Not as long, not as strong. It was like your mother giving you a little shake in the morning to get you out of bed

Thursday, Jan. 21:

Took a walk to Champ Mars tonight, saw the tents, the people, the masses upon masses. one house down another house fine. no rhyme or ­reason

Friday, Jan. 22:  

WE HAVE ELECTRICITY!!!

My neighborhood in PauP is perfectly still right now. An occasional distant dog bark or rooster crow...Quiet... then distant roar of a plane

Sunday, Jan. 24:  

It's a half moon tonight. Initial shock of the Quake is dying down. Heard a car drive by as if it were a normal night…we’re far from normal

In addition to Richard Morse ’79, two Princeton alumni living in Haiti were reported to be alive. The names of human-rights activists Jean-Claude Bajeux *77 and Sylvie Bajeux *79 were ­included in numerous lists of ­survivors. Jean-Claude Bajeux spoke to a French newspaper, Libération, shortly after the earthquake, saying: “For 10 years, we’ve accumulated catastrophes, but this one feels like a coup de grâce —   as if a subterranean power had decided to flatten us on the map of the world.”