Major Earthquake Hits Haiti, Leaves Heavy Casualties

Haiti was devastated Tuesday [January 12, 2010] by a catastrophic 7.0-magnitude earthquake--the strongest quake to hit the island nation in more than 200 years--which toppled buildings throughout the city and left thousands of people buried in the rubble or injured by falling debris.

The earthquake, which struck at 4:53 p.m. local time, disrupted communications and knocked out power in the capital city of Port-au-Prince, plunging the city into darkness and making it difficult to get a clear picture of the damage and human casualties. Officials said they would have to wait until dawn to determine the extent of the damage and whether the roads and airports are usable. Fires broke out in many parts of the city as collapsing buildings raised huge clouds of dust and sent people screaming into the streets.

Collapsing buildings included hotels, houses, at least one hospital and the five-story headquarters of the 9,000-member United Nations mission to Haiti.

The epicenter of the quake was about 10 miles outside Port-au-Prince. Aftershocks are expected to do further damage in the city and the surrounding countryside.

Haiti is home to about 9 million people, most of them desperately poor. Due to a history of poverty and political instability, Haiti has no real building standards. In 2008, the mayor of Port-au-Prince estimated that 60 percent of the buildings in the city were so poorly constructed that they were unsafe even during normal conditions.

U.S. President Barack Obama ordered U.S. officials to stand by and start preparing to provide humanitarian aid to Haiti. Other nations were taking similar measures, and waiting for daylight to provide more answers.

For up-to-date information about the earthquake in Haiti, follow the news on sites such as CNN or MSNBC, or use the search bar at the top of this page to check for additional updated coverage on About.com.

If you want to do something to help earthquake survivors in Haiti, consider making a donation to the American Red Cross. You can even donate $10 to American Red Cross relief to Haiti by texting "HAITI" to 90999. The Red Cross has already released $200,000 to provide emergency relief to Haiti, and the organization will continue to monitor the situation closely. You can stay up to date on what the Red Cross is learning by checking its Disaster Online Newsroom.

Also Read:

• Earthquake in Haiti: Information for Travelers -- About.com: Student Travel
• Devastating 7.0 Quake Strikes Haiti -- About.com: World News