Survivors of a massive earthquake that struck Haiti on Tuesday face “untold suffering,” warns Christian Aid.

Thousands are feared dead following the 7.0 magnitude quake which struck 10 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince just before 5 p.m. local time. Buildings across the capital were toppled, including the presidential palace and the headquarters of the UN mission in Haiti. It is believed that there are no survivors inside the collapsed UN building.

Dame Anne Owers, chair of Christian Aid, said she was deeply concerned about the impact of the earthquake on already severely impoverished communities in the Caribbean nation. more >>

A powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on Tuesday, collapsing a number of buildings and filling the capital city of Port-au-Prince with clouds of dust and smoke, according to initial reports.

Though the extent of the damage was not immediately known as communications were widely disrupted, there were reports from a number of sources of the collapse of a hospital and heavy damage to buildings including the Haiti’s Presidential Palace and the U.N. peacekeeper headquarters.

The initial quake, which was followed by two severe aftershocks, struck 10 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince at 4:53 p.m. ET, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A tsunami warning was issued for Haiti, the neighboring Dominican Republic, Cuba and the Bahamas. more >>

Former President Bill Clinton recently visited a school operated by Catholic nuns in Haiti where children are educated to break the cycle of poverty that entrap families for generations.

Clinton visited Marguerite Naseau school, which is sponsored by the Christian organization Food For the Poor, in Cite Soleil, Haiti, on March 9. During his visit, he reminded students that Haiti was once the richest island in the Caribbean.

“[B]ecause of the natural resources, because of what God had put into the land. It can be again, because of the resources in your mind and in your heart,” the former U.S. president said, according to Food For the Poor. more >>

Unless the underlying problems of deforestation and poverty are tackled in Haiti, tropical storms and hurricanes will continue to have a devastating effect, a Christian Relief Agency warned on Thursday.

According to Christian Aid, the impact of the tropical storm Jeanne - which has claimed 700 lives in Haiti - has been greatly exacerbated by the underlying vulnerability of the population. The storm created enormous mudslides, which swept away homes and isolated communities.

"Because the economic situation for many Haitians is so precarious, they rely on chopping down trees for fuel. It is still commonplace to use charcoal, which requires an enormous amount of wood. So in the poorest areas there has been widespread deforestation," said Judith Turbyne, Christian Aid's regional manager for Central America. more >>

Tropical Storm Jeanne swept north of Haiti during the weekend, drenching the impoverished Caribbean nation of 8 million, inundating cities and sending deadly mudslides through towns and villages. The government put the death toll at 662 and expected it to rise as relief workers recovered bodies and reached areas isolated by the now receding water.

According to the UN peacekeeping forces in Haiti, who were deployed immediately following the disaster, 500 bodies have been recovered in Gonaïves and there are reports of 56 dead in Port de Paix, 18 in Chasolme, 14 in Gros-Morne, 9 in Pilate and 9 in Ennery. The northern part of the country was described by the Primer Minister as a “vast sea” when he visited the area on September 19. Floods and landslides had previously affected Haiti in May this year leaving at least 1,500 people dead and spreading devastation in the southern part of the country.

Relief supplies were starting to reach the worst-hit areas, but the pace was slowed by waterlogged roads and worries about security in a country that is still unstable after an armed revolt ousted ex-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February. more >>

The churches and people of Haiti have been among the top concerns of mainline churches across the States since the ousting of the country’s former president Aristide. Following those concerns, on May 5, during the deliberations of the 2-week-long General Conference of the United Methodist Church, the delegates passed a resolution calling on the U.S. to provide the needs of Haitian Asylum seekers.

"The U.S., by its own admission, is detaining Haitian asylum seekers in order to deter a mass exodus from Haiti and has a policy that is contrary to international law and applies it in a discriminatory fashion," the resolution charged.

According to the United Methodist resolution, Haitian families attempting to enter the United States are separated, with women and men held in jails "in deplorable conditions" alongside criminals. Haitians denied entry into the United States and deported are put at "great risk" when they return to their homeland. more >>