The tremor sparked widespread panic as it brought down buildings including the presidential palace, hotels, a hospital and the UN headquarters in the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince . Large numbers of UN staff were reported to be missing, as well as two American and two Australian citizens.
The quake was the strongest to hit the country in 200 years and was felt as far away as Cuba.
在200年里这是袭击该国最为强烈的一次地震，并远涉至古巴。
Thousands of people gathered in public squares late into the night, singing hymns and weeping.
深夜时分，数千人聚集在人民广场上泣唱圣歌。
Many gravely injured people sat in the streets, pleading for doctors. With almost no emergency services to speak of, the surivors had few other options.
许多重伤者坐在路边乞求医生。因为没有急救服务措施，幸存者基本上无择可选。
"It's really a catastrophe of major proportions," Haiti's ambassador to the United States, Raymond Alcide Joseph, told CNN television.
“这真是个巨大的灾难，”美国驻海牙大使雷蒙德-阿尔西德-约瑟夫对美国有线新闻网这样说。
The death toll was expected to climb into the hundreds, but no official figure has been released so far.
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pray for them.