Hundreds of thousands of Haitians living in Miami and across Florida were frantically trying to reach their loved ones back home on Wednesday, after a powerful 7.0 earthquake hit the country causing devastation.
People in tight-knit Haitian communities gathered around radios and computers eager to hear the latest about the plight of their loved ones, after telephone lines to the impoverished Caribbean nation went dead.
The earthquake that Haiti's US ambassador called "a catastrophe of major proportions" levelled high rises and buildings around the Haitian capital, including a hospital, the presidential palace, several ministries and the UN's MINUSTAH stabilisation mission headquarters.
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There were no immediate estimates on the number of victims, but images and reports from the stricken city suggested substantial casualties.
Phone lines cut off
"Most of the phone lines are down in Port-au-Prince. I don't have news from my relatives," Leonie Hermantin told AFP.
"We couldn't contact people working in the office of our organisation there," she said referring to her employer, the Lambi Fund of Haiti, dedicated to helping the most impoverished nation in the western hemisphere.
"People are trying to get some information on friends and relatives by the internet and via Facebook," Hermantin added.
George Cadet, who works for fruit and vegetable importing company Garland, said he was glued to "several Haitian radio stations in Miami" trying to assess the extent of the quake damage in Port-au-Prince.
"I'm pretty calm," he said, "most of my family lives far away from Port-au-Prince."
Haitian groups estimate the number of Haitians in Miami at around 300,000, making it one of the biggest foreign communities in the city after the Cuban population.
