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The quake was quickly followed by two nearby, strong aftershocks of initial magnitude of 5.9 and 5.5.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
(Reporting by Sandra Maler, Editing by Stacey Joyce)
Tsunami alert after buildings collapse as powerful quake rocks Haiti
By Helen Kennedy
Daily News Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 12th 2010, 5:58 PM
A major earthquake hit the hurricane-battered island of Haiti Tuesday,
collapsing buildings - including at least one hospital - and prompting a
tsunami alert for the eastern Caribbean.
The magnitude 7.3 quake hit close to the capital Port-au-Prince, officials
said.
Two powerful aftershocks measuring 5.9 and 5.5 on the Richter scale followed soon after, further damaging structures weakened by the initial quake.
The streets of the capital were reported to be full of panicked people. Power was out and phone service was down.
In Petitionville, where the hospital was wrecked, a visiting official with the
U.S. Department of Agriculture said homes had apparently collapsed into a ravine.
"The sky is just gray with dust," Henry Bahn told the Associated Press.
"I just hear a tremendous amount of noise and shouting and screaming in the distance."
Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, has been through untold misery in recent years.
A series of devastating storms and hurricanes in 2008 - Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike - killed hundreds and left up to a million homeless.
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