The presidential palace, Haiti's grandest building, was substantially destroyed and its incumbent, Rene Preval, described the scene in his capital as "unimaginable".
His prime minister, Jean-Max Bellerive, said the government believed the death toll in the city of two million people was "well over 100,000" while Youri Latortue, a senior senator, said it could be 500,000.
Both admitted they had no way of knowing but aid workers on the scene reported widespread destruction and suffering as severely injured people lay in the streets, unable to get medical assistance.
The images coming out of Port Au Prince paint a picture of complete devastation. The earthquake occurred at a shallow depth near a city of two million people. Lax building codes contributed to its destructive power, and many concrete structures built on hillsides have been completely flattened.
This will likely be one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.
If you have not already donated to one of the organizations listed in Dallasdoc's diary please consider doing so. Even $25 can go a long way in Haiti.
Via ScienceDaily:
Immediate health priorities include:
* search and rescue of survivors trapped underneath rubble; * treatment of people with major trauma injuries; * preventing the infection of wounds; * provision of clean water and sanitation; and * ensuring breast-feeding is continued.
Control of communicable diseases, such as diarrhoeal diseases and respiratory infections, will be another major concern in coming days.
First aerial images, available at the Washington Post.
The Red Cross has run out of medical supplies in Haiti. Via the L.A.Times:
A spokesman for the American Red Cross says the aid organization has run out of medical supplies in Haiti.
Red Cross spokesman Eric Porterfield said Wednesday that the small amount of medical equipment and medical supplies that were available in Haiti has been distributed.
Up to 3 million people may be affected, according to CTV in Canada:
International Red Cross spokesman Paul Conneally said an estimated three million people may have been affected by the quake and that it would take a day or two for a clear picture of the damage to emerge.
Via the Sydney Morning Herald:
The World Bank says it planned [sic] to extend an additional $US100 million ($A108.72 million) in emergency aid to Haiti to help recovery and reconstruction from a devastating earthquake.