A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck near Port au Prince, Haiti, around 4:53 p.m. Tuesday.
The earthquake knocked the radio stations in Port au Prince off the air, shut down much of Haiti's telecommunications system, and caused severe damage to Haitian government buildings, the United Nations peacekeeper headquarters, Haiti's airport control tower, hospitals, hotels, private homes and many other buildings in Port au Prince and other communities in southern Haiti.
Officials are saying the number of deaths could be in the thousands. Some of the people who have died are workers from other countries. French Foreign Minister Bernard Koucher has reported, for example, says France believes that Hedi Annabi, the United Nations mission chief in Haiti, is dead.
Since the first earthquake hit southern Haiti, many smaller quakes, with a magnitude of about 4.0 to 5.0, have shaken the region, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Compagnie d'Assurance de Haiti S.A., Port au Prince, a unit of Groupe Dynamic S.A., Port au Prince, is a life and health insurer that has offices near Hait's airport. CAH representatives could not immediately be reached for comment on their assessment of the situation.
Convoy of Hope, Springfield, Mo., a charity that helped respond to Hurricane Katrina and already has operations in Haiti, says it already has a warehouse in Haiti and is preparing to set up an earthquake relief center there. Convoy of Hope has a rating of 4 stars out of 4 from Charity Navigator Mahwah, N.J., a charity evaluation service. Information about donating to Convoy of Hope is available here.
Travel assistance benefits companies are starting to describe efforts to help customers who are in Haiti. On Call International L.L.C., Salem, N.H., says it has set up an emergency hotline for the friends and relatives of travelers visiting Haiti at (800) 576-5172. On Call will try to help callers connect with loved ones who are in Haiti, the company says.
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