Heavy Casualties as Haiti struck by Devastating Earthquake Magnitude 7.0

(Maps-USGS)

A powerful earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale has struck Haiti in the Caribbean at 1653 (2153 GMT).It had a depth of 10km, and was centred about 15 km (10 miles) SW of the capital Port-au-Prince and 1140 km (710 miles) SE of Miami, Florida according to the US Geological Survey. The earthquake was quickly followed by two aftershocks of magnitude of 5.9 and 5.5.
The January 12, 2010, Haiti earthquake occurred in the boundary region separating the Caribbean plate and the North America plate. This plate boundary is dominated by left-lateral strike slip motion and compression, and accommodates about 20 mm/y slip, with the Caribbean plate moving eastward with respect to the North America plate. (USGS)

Raymond Joseph, Haiti's ambassador to the US, told CNN: "I think it is really a catastrophe of major proportions." Casualty figures cannot be confirmed as communications have been seriously disrupted. The quake occurred near a highly populated urban area and will have impacted on up to three million people.The size of the quake and the proximity to heavily populated slum areas is likely to have resulted in heavy loss of life. In Petitionville where a hospital fell down on top of screaming patients, homes collapsed into a ravine. The quake was centred on Petionville- a suburb some 10 miles up from downtown Port-au-Prince.

Local television also reported that the country's presidential palace and numerous other buildings in Port-au-Prince had collapsed.The United Nations building is believed to have been severely damaged, along with a local university. Kathy Skipper, a local employee for the US charity Food for the Poor, told the Reuters news agency that a five-storey building had collapsed in the capital. Another Food for the Poor employee said there were more houses destroyed than standing in Delmas Road, a major thoroughfare in the city.