Haiti feels force of major earthquake
A strong earthquake hit the Caribbean nation of Haiti on Tuesday afternoon, where a hospital collapsed. Other buildings also were damaged.
There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries, but an analyst at the US Geological Survey said there could be substantial damage and casualties. Powerful aftershocks were felt in the first hour.
The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 and was centered about 10 miles west of the capital, Port-au-Prince, the USGS said. It had a depth of 5 miles.
An Associated Press videographer saw the wrecked hospital in Petionville, near Port-au-Prince, and a US government official reported seeing houses that had tumbled into a ravine.
No further details on any causualties or other damage were immediately available.
Don Blakeman, an analyst at the US Geological Survey in Golden, Colorado, said such a strong quake carried the potential for widespread damage.
"I think we are going to see substantial damage and casualties," he said.
Blakeman said Haiti had already been hit by many aftershocks - the two largest registering magnitude 5.9 and 5.5.
"We expect more aftershocks because this is a large, shallow earthquake," he said.
The quake was felt in the Dominican Republic, which shares a border with Haiti on the island of Hispaniola. Some residents in the capital of Santo Domingo fled their homes.
Another analyst, Dale Grant, said this was the "largest quake recorded in this area." He said the last strong quake was a magnitude-6.7 temblor in 1984.
"Everybody is just totally, totally freaked out and shaken," said Henry Bahn, a US Department of Agriculture official visiting Haiti. "The sky is just grey with dust."
Bahn said he was walking to his hotel room when the ground began to shake.
"I just held on and bounced across the wall," he said. "I just hear a tremendous amount of noise and shouting and screaming in the distance."
Bahn said there were rocks strewn all over the place and he saw a ravine where several homes had been built. "It's just full of collapsed walls and rubble and barbed wire," he said.
Felix Augustin, Haiti's consul general in New York, said he was concerned about everyone in Haiti, including his relatives.
"Communication is absolutely impossible," he said. "I've been trying to call my ministry and I cannot get through … It's mind-boggling.Haiti earthquake adds to woes of a benighted country
Poorest country in the western hemisphere is ill equipped to deal with natural disasters
The earthquake that has hit Haiti, raising fears that thousands have been killed, is the latest in a long line of natural disasters to befall a country ill equipped to deal with such events.
Hurricanes and flooding are perennial concerns for the poorest country in the western hemisphere, which has time and again been dependent on foreign aid in emergencies.
A Haitian woman is helped after being trapped in rubble following the earthquake. Photograph: Lisandro Suero/AFP/Getty Images
The country was struck by two disasters in 2004. In May heavy rains caused flooding that killed more than 2,000 people. Four months later mudslides and flooding caused by hurricane Jeanne, the 12th deadliest Atlantic hurricane, killed more than 3,000 people, mostly in the town of Gonaives.
Tragedy struck again in 2008 when four storms – tropical storm Fay, hurricane Gustav, hurricane Hanna and hurricane Ike – dumped heavy rains on the country. Around 1,000 people died and 800,000 were left homeless. The number of people affected by the storms was put at 800,000 – almost 10% of the population – with the damage estimated at $1bn.
Deforestation that allows rainwater to wash down mountain slopes is believed to have exacerbated many of the natural disasters in Haiti.
Two-thirds of Haitians live off the land and the same proportion on less than $2 (£1.25) a day, so the impact of such tragedies has been long lasting.
Haitians have had to contend with political turmoil. The country elected its first democratic president in 1990 after almost three decades of bloody rule by Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier and his son, Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier.
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