Thousands possibly dead after a huge earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale hit the island of Haiti.

Haiti’s presidential palace collapsed after the tremor, as well as a hospital with reports that patients are buried under the debris. Witnesses said that as night fell, survivors were trying to pull people out of debris. The scene was horrific.

A journalist with Haitian television station Haitipal, interviewed by telephone from Port-au-Prince, told the station that public buildings across the capital had been destroyed. Reports said the UN peacekeeping HQ was also flattened.

“The presidential palace, the finance ministry, the ministry of public works, the ministry of communication and culture,” were all affected by the quake, the reporter said, adding that the parliament building and a cathedral in the capital were also crumbling.

“I think we are going to see substantial damage and casualties,” said Don Blakeman, an analyst at the USGS. The earthquake’s size and proximity to populated Port-Au-Prince likely caused widespread casualties and structural damage, added one quake expert. “It’s going to be a real killer,” he said.

Filed under: General

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