Strong Earthquake Rocks Haiti, Collapses Hospital
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti -A strong earthquake hit the impoverished country of Haiti on Tuesday afternoon, where a hospital collapsed and people were screaming for help. Other buildings also were damaged.
The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 and was centered about 14 miles (22 kilometers) west from the capital of Port-au-Prince, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The USGS also reported a 5.9 magnitude aftershock soon after.
A Los Angeles County Fire Department Urban Search and Rescue team will be traveling to Haiti in the aftermath.
About 60 members of the county fire department will be deployed to the area, according to Inspector Frederic Stowers.
Stowers said the exact number of personnel and details of their deployment were still being finalized.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles-based international aid organization Operation USA announced that it will be sending medical aid to Haiti. The group made a public appeal for donations to help. Information on donating is available online at www.opusa.org or by calling (800) 678-7255.
An Associated Press videographer saw the wrecked hospital in nearby Petionville, and a U.S. government official reported seeing houses that had tumbled into a ravine.
No further details on any casualties or other damage were immediately available.
“Everybody is just totally, totally freaked out and shaken,” said Henry Bahn, a visiting official with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “The sky is just gray with dust.”
Bahn said he was walking to his hotel room when the ground began to shake.
“I just held on and bounced across the wall,” he said. “I just hear a tremendous amount of noise and shouting and screaming in the distance.”
Bahn said there were rocks strewn all over the place and he saw a ravine where several homes had been built. “It’s just full of collapsed walls and rubble and barbed wire,” he said.
President Barack Obama says his thoughts and prayers – and, possibly, U.S. aid – go to the people of Haiti, where a strong earthquake hit the island nation.
Obama said Tuesday in a statement that the United States is watching the situation is ready to assist Haitians.
White House officials say Obama was told of the earthquake at 5:52 p.m and he asked aides to make sure U.S. personnel at the embassy in Port-au-Prince were safe. Officials also say Obama told them to start preparing in case humanitarian assistance is needed.
The State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development and U.S. Southern Command have started to coordinate.
