A massive earthquake, registering 7.0 on the moment magnitude scale , struck Haiti yesterday, destroying many buildings, disrupting communications, and burying an unknown number of people underneath rubble. Thousands of people are feared to have been killed by the tremors, which were felt as far away as Venezuela. 200px|An injured survivor in the Port-au-Prince rubble. Survivors from the rubble being loaded on the back of a pickup truck. Corpses of people killed by collapsed buildings were scattered throughout Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. Witnesses say bodies were lining the streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince , after the quake struck on Tuesday afternoon, sending a cloud of dust from falling buildings into the sky. The quake was centered about sixteen kilometers from the capital, and struck at a depth of just ten kilometers, exacerbating the damage. At least 27 aftershocks were also recorded, the strongest of which came in at 5.5 and 5.9 magnitude. A tsunami alert was initially issued following the tremor, but it was retracted shortly afterwards. Buildings across the capital have collapsed, including the presidential palace and the headquarters of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti. However, the president, René Préval , and his wife reportedly survived the collapse of the building. The country's envoy to the United States believed damage costs could reach billions of dollars. The Notre Dame of the Assumption Cathedral in Port-au-Prince was also destroyed, killing Joseph Serge Miot, the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince . "[...] It would appear that all those who were in the building, including my friend [UN mission head] Hedi Annabi [...] and all those who were with him and around him are dead," said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner . In a statement released yesterday, the UN remarked that "[f]or the moment, a large number of personnel remain unaccounted for." Video of the earthquake in progress. "I saw dead bodies, people are screaming, they are on the street panicking, people are hurt. There are a lot of wounded, broken heads, broken arms," recounted Raphaelle Chenet, the administrator of the Mercy and Sharing charity, in a telephone interview with the Wall Street Journal from the Haitian capital. Joseph Guyler Delva, a reporter for Reuters , was in the area when the tremors struck. "Everything started shaking, people were screaming, houses started collapsing. It's total chaos." The World Food Program (WFP), which has a large staff on the ground, says the level of destruction indicates many of these people have been affected and will require help. The Director of the WFP office in Geneva, Charles Vincent, remarked that the first priority is to save lives. "To rescue people that are buried, that are trapped, etc. [...] followed very rapidly by a big problem of water, sanitation, epidemic-problems of diseases that might be bred in that kind of situation," he noted. The Haitian ambassador to the United States, Raymond Joseph, told CNN the Caribbean nation is seeking US assistance, and called the quake a catastrophe of major proportions. "I'm quite sure we're going to face a disaster of major proportion," he said. Separately, the Inter-American Development Bank said it will immediately approve a $200,000 grant for emergency assistance to Haiti. The funds will be used to provide food, water, medicine and temporary shelter for victims of the massive quake. The US Agency for International Development is dispatching a disaster assistance response team to Haiti and commented that it will continue to provide additional support as needed. The UN, meanwhile, dispatched approximately 37 search and rescue teams to assist Haitians from a global network. UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon said that US$ 10 million worth of emergency funds would be used. "I have spoken with Mr. Clinton and we have agreed to mobilize our best assistance and rescue teams and try to reconstruct the Haitian economy. The UN will do whatever possible to help the Haitian people to overcome these difficulties," Ban stated. The aid group Oxfam added that its emergency response team for Latin America is based in Haiti and is well prepared, with a public health, water and sanitation team in Port-au-Prince. Oxfam says it is preparing to send in emergency supplies as soon as possible from Panama. The American Red Cross pledged US $500,000 to help the country, and would send out people to assess damage. "As with most earthquakes, we expect to see immediate needs for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support," it said yesterday evening in a statement. A number of other nations, including the UK and Venezuela, are also planning to send aid. A reporter for the Al Jazeera news agency, however, said there might be difficulties delivering aid. "We are about 300km from the epicentre of the earthquake, and we know that the UN agencies and the humanitarian groups here are trying to get together some kind of strategy to get aid over to Haiti. We know that there are trucks loaded with supplies ready to go but the difficulty is that no-one really knows how to get that aid to the people [effectively]." This quake is said to have been the strongest in Haiti in over two hundred years; the last time an earthquake of comparable magnitude was recorded was in 1770. Haiti is the Western Hemisphere's poorest country. Recent development efforts have suffered severe setbacks because of political violence, crime, corruption and natural disasters. Seventy percent of the population lives on the equivalent of less than US$ 2 per day.
A massive earthquake, registering 7.0 on the , struck Haiti yesterday, destroying many buildings, disrupting communications, and burying an unknown number of people underneath rubble. Thousands of people are feared to have been killed by the tremors, which were felt as far away as Venezuela. 200px|An injured survivor in the Port-au-Prince rubble. Survivors from the rubble being loaded on the back of a pickup truck. Corpses of people killed by collapsed buildings were scattered throughout Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. Witnesses say bodies were lining the streets of the capital, , after the quake struck on Tuesday afternoon, sending a cloud of dust from falling buildings into the sky. The quake was centered about sixteen kilometers from the capital, and struck at a depth of just ten kilometers, exacerbating the damage. At least 27 aftershocks were also recorded, the strongest of which came in at 5.5 and 5.9 magnitude. A tsunami alert was initially issued following the tremor, but it was retracted shortly afterwards. Buildings across the capital have collapsed, including the presidential palace and the headquarters of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti. However, the president, , and his wife reportedly survived the collapse of the building. The country's envoy to the United States believed damage costs could reach billions of dollars. The in Port-au-Prince was also destroyed, killing , the . "[...] It would appear that all those who were in the building, including my friend [UN mission head] Hedi Annabi [...] and all those who were with him and around him are dead," said French Foreign Minister . In a statement released yesterday, the UN remarked that "[f]or the moment, a large number of personnel remain unaccounted for." Video of the earthquake in progress. "I saw dead bodies, people are screaming, they are on the street panicking, people are hurt. There are a lot of wounded, broken heads, broken arms," recounted Raphaelle Chenet, the administrator of the charity, in a telephone interview with the from the Haitian capital. Joseph Guyler Delva, a reporter for , was in the area when the tremors struck. "Everything started shaking, people were screaming, houses started collapsing. It's total chaos." The (WFP), which has a large staff on the ground, says the level of destruction indicates many of these people have been affected and will require help. The Director of the WFP office in Geneva, Charles Vincent, remarked that the first priority is to save lives. "To rescue people that are buried, that are trapped, etc. [...] followed very rapidly by a big problem of water, sanitation, epidemic-problems of diseases that might be bred in that kind of situation," he noted. The Haitian ambassador to the United States, Raymond Joseph, told the nation is seeking US assistance, and called the quake a catastrophe of major proportions. "I'm quite sure we're going to face a disaster of major proportion," he said. Separately, the said it will immediately approve a $200,000 grant for emergency assistance to Haiti. The funds will be used to provide food, water, medicine and temporary shelter for victims of the massive quake. The is dispatching a disaster assistance response team to Haiti and commented that it will continue to provide additional support as needed. The UN, meanwhile, dispatched approximately 37 search and rescue teams to assist Haitians from a global network. UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon said that US$ 10 million worth of emergency funds would be used. "I have spoken with Mr. Clinton and we have agreed to mobilize our best assistance and rescue teams and try to reconstruct the Haitian economy. The UN will do whatever possible to help the Haitian people to overcome these difficulties," Ban stated. The aid group added that its emergency response team for is based in Haiti and is well prepared, with a public health, water and sanitation team in Port-au-Prince. Oxfam says it is preparing to send in emergency supplies as soon as possible from Panama. The American Red Cross pledged US $500,000 to help the country, and would send out people to assess damage. "As with most earthquakes, we expect to see immediate needs for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support," it said yesterday evening in a statement. A number of other nations, including the UK and Venezuela, are also planning to send aid. A reporter for the news agency, however, said there might be difficulties delivering aid. "We are about 300km from the epicentre of the earthquake, and we know that the UN agencies and the humanitarian groups here are trying to get together some kind of strategy to get aid over to Haiti. We know that there are trucks loaded with supplies ready to go but the difficulty is that no-one really knows how to get that aid to the people [effectively]." This quake is said to have been the strongest in Haiti in over two hundred years; the last time an earthquake of comparable magnitude was recorded was in 1770. Haiti is the Western Hemisphere's poorest country. Recent development efforts have suffered severe setbacks because of political violence, crime, corruption and natural disasters. Seventy percent of the population lives on the equivalent of less than US$ 2 per day.
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René Préval
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Joseph Serge Miot, the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince
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$200,000 grant for emergency assistance to Haiti. The funds will be used to provide food, water, medicine and temporary shelter for victims of the massive quake. The US Agency for International Development is dispatching a disaster assistance response team to Haiti and commented that it will continue to provide additional support as needed. The UN, meanwhile, dispatched approximately 37 search and rescue teams to assist Haitians from a global network. UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon said that US$
$200,000 grant for emergency assistance to Haiti. The funds will be used to provide food, water, medicine and temporary shelter for victims of the massive quake. The is dispatching a disaster assistance response team to Haiti and commented that it will continue to provide additional support as needed. The UN, meanwhile, dispatched approximately 37 search and rescue teams to assist Haitians from a global network. UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon said that US$
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$500,000 to help the country, and would send out people to assess damage. "As with most earthquakes, we expect to see immediate needs for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support," it said yesterday evening in a statement. A number of other nations, including the UK and Venezuela, are also planning to send aid. A reporter for the Al Jazeera news agency, however, said there might be difficulties delivering aid. "We are about 300km from the epicentre of the earthquake, and we know that the UN agencies and the humanitarian groups here are trying to get together some kind of strategy to get aid over to Haiti. We know that there are trucks loaded with supplies ready to go but the difficulty is that no-one really knows how to get that aid to the people [effectively]." This quake is said to have been the strongest in Haiti in over two hundred years; the last time an earthquake of comparable magnitude was recorded was in 1770. Haiti is the Western Hemisphere's poorest country. Recent development efforts have suffered severe setbacks because of political violence, crime, corruption and natural disasters. Seventy percent of the population lives on the equivalent of less than US$
$500,000 to help the country, and would send out people to assess damage. "As with most earthquakes, we expect to see immediate needs for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support," it said yesterday evening in a statement. A number of other nations, including the UK and Venezuela, are also planning to send aid. A reporter for the news agency, however, said there might be difficulties delivering aid. "We are about 300km from the epicentre of the earthquake, and we know that the UN agencies and the humanitarian groups here are trying to get together some kind of strategy to get aid over to Haiti. We know that there are trucks loaded with supplies ready to go but the difficulty is that no-one really knows how to get that aid to the people [effectively]." This quake is said to have been the strongest in Haiti in over two hundred years; the last time an earthquake of comparable magnitude was recorded was in 1770. Haiti is the Western Hemisphere's poorest country. Recent development efforts have suffered severe setbacks because of political violence, crime, corruption and natural disasters. Seventy percent of the population lives on the equivalent of less than US$