Major quake rocks Haitian capital; thousands feared dead

www.timesofearth.com WASHINGTON The Caribbean nation of Haiti has been hit by its strongest earthquake in more than 200 years, causing what is being described as « a catastrophe of major proportions ». Centred about 15km inland, west of the capital Port-au-Prince, Tuesday afternoon’s quake caused buildings to collapse and is believed to have left hundreds of people trapped under the rubble. Joseph Guyler Delva, a reporter with the Reuters news agency, said he saw dozens of casualties. « Everything started shaking, people were screaming, houses started collapsing, » he said. « It’s total chaos. » As darkness fell in Port-au-Prince, residents desperately tried to dig out survivors or searched for missing relatives in debris-strewn streets amid chaotic scenes. A Food for the Poor charity employee said there that there were likely to be many casualties given the destruction he had witnessed in the capital. « The whole city is in darkness, you have thousands of people sitting in the streets, with nowhere to go, » Rachmani Domersant, the charity’s operations manager, said. « I’ve seen seven to eight buildings, from office buildings to hotels and shopping stores, collapsed … I think hundreds of casualties would be a serious understatement. » Karel Zelenka, a Catholic Relief Services representative in Port-au-Prince, told colleagues in the US that « there must be thousands of people dead », according to a spokeswoman for the aid group. Sara Fajardo said from Catholic Relief’s offices in …

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