Buildings Crumble in Haiti - Loss of life most likely significant

Buildings crumble in Haiti

Haiti, a neighbour and the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, suffered heavy damage especially in the Capital Port-Au-Prince as a result of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck at about 5pm on Tuesday January 12, 2010.

Witnesses report and pictures reveal, buildings have collapsed or have been badly damaged including the Presidential palace and a hospital. Additionally the electrical infrastructure has been damaged.

The collapsed Presidential Palace in Haiti.

Several photos have been uploaded online at http://picfog.com/search/Haiti

Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Hubert Ingraham whose country shares a maritime border with Haiti and plays host to many thousand Haitian nationals said he was deeply distressed at the news. "Our hearts go out to the people of Haiti at this time and I have alerted our emergency services to be prepared, along with similar agencies in our sister states in the Caribbean, to render whatever aid we can as soon as possible," he said in a release late on Tuesday.

The earthquake was centered about 15 kilometres or 10 miles south-west of Port-Au-Prince, according to the US Geological Survey and it was quickly followed by two strong aftershocks with magnitudes of 5.9 and 5.5.

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM)  in a statement on its website said it is distressed at the initial reports coming out of Haiti in the wake of the destruction wrought by the series of earthquakes which struck its Member State on Tuesday. "As it continues to monitor the situation closely, CARICOM will move quickly to mobilize its disaster emergency response systems in order to render assistance to Haiti," the statement continued.

Haiti has been plagued in recent years. In 2008 four storms within one month, left over 800 people dead..