Up to 3 million in need after Haitian earthquake

Editor's note: If you have information out of Haiti or know people with ties to the island country, please e-mail newstips@desnews.com.

GENEVA — Haiti's devastating earthquake has left an estimated 3 million people in need of emergency aid, a Red Cross official said Wednesday, as aid groups and governments scrambled to send tons of disaster relief to the impoverished Caribbean nation.

Humanitarian officials said the proximity of the quake's epicenter, only 10 miles (15 kilometers) from the capital Port-au-Prince, and Haiti's crumbling infrastructure meant it was impossible to gauge how many people might be dead or wounded.

"There's probably 3 million people potentially affected," said Paul Conneally, spokesman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, basing the estimate on Haiti's population of 10 million and previous Red Cross experience in earthquake relief.

"Port-au-Prince has been massively impacted," Conneally said. "There are many, many people trapped in the rubble."

The neighboring Haitian cities of Carrefour and Jacmel may also be heavily damaged, said Elizabeth Byrs, a U.N. humanitarian spokeswoman.

The Red Cross said Haiti's disaster relief teams were "completely overwhelmed."

"There's no structured response at this point," spokesman Simon Schorno told The Associated Press.

The first airlifts to Haiti were concentrating on search and rescue efforts, setting up makeshift hospitals and delivering food.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the United States was offering full assistance — civilian and military — while Britain, France, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico and Venezuela pledged immediate support in terms of personnel, cash and supplies.

One of the first teams expected to arrive Wednesday in Haiti was 37 search and rescue specialists from Iceland, along with 10 tons of rescue equipment.

French rescue authorities said 65 rubble-clearing specialists and 6 sniffer dogs were leaving Wednesday for Haiti, while Spain was rushing three airplanes there with at least 100 tons of tents, blankets and cooking kits. Israel was sending in an elite Army rescue unit of engineers and medics.

Some aid flights from Europe were delayed by heavy snow. A British plane with 64 firefighters and rescue dogs was grounded temporarily at Gatwick airport.