As the news circulated this afternoon that an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 out of a maximum of 9.0 had struck 10 miles southwest of Port-Au-Prince, the capital city of Haiti, my heart leapt.

There were two aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 magnitude approximately 20 minutes after the main quake. A hospital in the town of Petionville collapsed during the quake and there was a partial collapse of the presidential palace.

There are reports of the continuing collapse of buildings which were structurally compromised by the quake…..A tsunami warning has been issued for neighboring islands. I hope that Haiti will receive speedy assistance from the international community.

They will need all our support to recover from the physical and deep emotional scars that will flow from this major tragedy.
My prayers are with Haiti and all Haitian’s worldwide…..Vive Le Haiti!