Haiti hit by 7.0-magnitude earthquake; buildings leveled in Port-au-Prince

The most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Haiti devastated parts of the impoverished island nation Tuesday, leveling a hospital in the capital, severely damaging the U.N. headquarters and other buildings, and sending panicked residents into the streets.

Beleaguered authorities braced for major casualties, but with communications crippled across the country, there were no firm estimates. Photos from the area showed smashed cars and people pulling victims from the rubble. The roof of the presidential palace was in pieces.

The quake, which had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0, occurred about 4:53 p.m. and was centered about 10 miles west of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Witnesses reported a series of strong aftershocks.

The United Nations said that its headquarters in Port-au-Prince, a city of 2 million people, had suffered "serious damage" and that "a large number of personnel remain unaccounted for."

"People are out in the streets, crying, screaming, shouting," said Karel Zelenka, director of the Catholic Relief Services office in Haiti. "They see the extent of the damage," he said, but could do little to rescue people trapped under rubble because night had fallen.

"There are a lot of collapsed buildings," Zelenka said in a telephone interview from Port-au-Prince. "This will be a major, major disaster."

He reported that poorly constructed shantytowns and other buildings had crumbled in huge clouds of dust. Near the CRS headquarters, a supermarket was "completely razed," he said, and a gasoline station and a church were reduced to rubble. Among the worst-hit areas was the impoverished Carrefour section of Port-au-Prince near the sea.

In the wealthier Petionville part of the city, where diplomats and well-off Haitians live in hillside homes, a hospital was wrecked and houses had tumbled into a ravine, according to the Associated Press.

President Obama issued a statement saying his "thoughts and prayers go out to those who have been affected by this earthquake."

The State Department said the United States will provide military and civilian disaster assistance to Haiti. The U.S. Agency for International Development said in a statement that it would send up to 72 workers, six search-and-rescue dogs, and up to 48 tons of rescue equipment.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said embassy officials had begun trying to contact Americans living in the city but were hampered by a lack of communication and by roads that were impassable.

"The damage is significant. Lots of walls down. There are people who have been killed by falling debris," Crowley said. "Clearly, the situation there, the damage there, is significant."