by afew
Wed Jan 13th, 2010 at 03:51:23 AM EST
The presidential palace in Port-au-Prince |
AFP.com - Hundreds feared dead as 7.0 quake strikes Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE (AFP) - The strongest earthquake to hit Haiti in over a century rocked the impoverished Caribbean nation Tuesday, toppling buildings and triggering fears that hundreds have been killed in widespread destruction.
Some of the country's most venerable buildings, including Haiti's presidential palace, were destroyed by the late-afternoon, 7.0-magnitude quake, and bodies were seen arrayed in the streets as darkness enveloped a panic-stricken capital Port-au-Prince.
Injured, homeless and horrified residents of the crowded capital of two million suffered through the terror of dozens of strong aftershocks, according to scattered eyewitness reports.
With a major tragedy was unfolding, communication and electricity alternated between patchy and complete cutoff, and the full magnitude of destruction quickly dawned on Haitian officials, one of whom described the quake as a "catastrophe of major proportions."
The epicentre of the quake was close to the capital, Port-au-Prince.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said 27 strong aftershocks hit the country in the hours after the initial 2153 GMT quake.
Sara Fajardo of Catholic Relief Services told AFP that staff in the country were terrified the aftershocks would topple more buildings.
Death and destruction are likely to be considerable across the whole population of one of the world's poorest countries, so it may seem derisory to add this:
Reuters AlertNet - UN Haiti HQ seriously damaged, personnel missing
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 12 (Reuters) - The headquarters of the U.N. mission in Haiti was seriously damaged by a powerful earthquake that shook the capital Port-au-Prince on Tuesday and many staff are missing, the United Nations said. "The United Nations can confirm that the Headquarters of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) in Port-au-Prince has sustained serious damage along with other UN installations," the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain le Roy said in a statement issued in New York.
"For the moment, a large number of personnel remain unaccounted for," he said.
But it's probable that administrative and official Port-au-Prince has suffered.
