Earthquake destroys Haitian capital

A truly monumental catastrophe continues to unfold in Haiti in the wake of a 7.0 earthquake that decimated the impoverished Caribbean nation yesterday afternoon.

Haitian officials, aid workers and others have speculated the tremor, which struck roughly 10 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, killed thousands. This figure will almost certainly increase as the sheer magnitude of this catastrophe continues to emerge.

Sources in the neighboring Dominican Republic told Boy in Bushwick they felt the earthquake. Anthony Montgomery of Monaga said large swaths of Santo Domingo lost power, but damage in the capital appears minimal. A contact in Puerto Plata tweeted the ground shook violently.

A massive relief effort has begun to mobilize, but this clip of a dust cloud rising from Port-au-Prince in the moments after the earthquake struck clearly demonstrates the massive destruction the Haitian capital and the country as a whole has suffered.



Below are links to organizations that are contributing to the Haitian relief effort.

American Red Cross

Batey Relief Alliance

Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City

Rainbow World Fund

William J. Clinton Foundation

Yele Haiti