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city and let you know what's going on as daylight now hits the country. also, nations are pledging aid. you can see all of it right there. but will the people in the disaster zone be able to get that aid fast enough? that is one of the questions this morning. and also, an incredible story. the last flight out of haiti. what frightened passengers saw on the ground as they took off well after the quake hit. >> everybody was shock -- shocking like thinking that we were going to die. >> i'm heidi collins. you are in the "cnn newsroom." it is a major catastrophe for haiti. we have gone through all this before. i'm quite sure that the haitian people, courageous as they are, will come out of it in unity. >> the sun is up in haiti now and we will be getting the very first daylight images of the devastation. rescue efforts happening right now after a major earthquake hit haiti late yesterday afternoon. it was centered near port-au-prince and caused massive damage, not only in the capital city but elsewhere as you would imagine. as many as 2 million of haiti's 9 million people live in port-au-prince. the head of the united nations mission in haiti is missing at this hour. the u.n. headquarters there is one of the many buildings that have collapsed. u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon says rescue crews are trying to get to survivors that are stuck in the rubble. the u.s. coast guard assessing the damage from the air right now to see if it's even safe for the arrival of american disaster teams. just minutes ago the white house announced president obama will talk about the devastation in haiti, that's coming your way at 10:00 a.m. eastern. we'll carry that for you. meanwhile, we have several crews in the air, on the way to haiti right now to bring you the very latest from the ground. our ivan watson is in the dominican republic though right now waiting to get in to haiti. ivan joins us live by telephone. ivan, that is the case for many people, in fact, being stuck where you are. >> reporter: hi, heidi. i'm at an air strip in the dominican republic which was not affected by this earthquake. and there's been some confusion here about permission to get into haiti, permission whether or not it is possible to land helicopters or planes there yet. we're watching the united nations helicopter here that's a transport helicopter that i believe they are united nations peacekeepers that have been filling it with emergency supplies. lot of questions here. you have emergency workers desperate to try to get in and some haitians as well. i spoke with a police officer who is trying to get permission to fly in. he says it is his duty to be serving on the ground there at this time of crisis. heidi? >> ivan, is there difficulty with the planes being able to get in because of what has happened to the ground? or what more can you tell us about why it's so tough other than the obvious here? >> reporter: well, i think there is some confusion about whether or not planes would have permission to land at port-au-prince airport. that's with a we were told. they were ready to fly in on chartered helicopters. the capability was there but it seemed like there was some confusion as to whether there was an authority on the ground that would authorize these helicopters to land from a neighboring country. >> it seems so ridiculous to be hearing about whether or not aid would be authorized to come in at a point like this. any idea who this person is or what agency this might be? >> reporter: well, i think at this point it now looks we're actually getting taken over to a charter plane that we are hoping to fly into port-au-prince. so it does seem like there has been some movement. but certainly in the first hours of this day and after daybreak, several hours of confusion trying to figure out whether it is possible to land planes in or not. again, there is a united nations helicopter here that's been loaded with rescue supplies. we know that the u.n. peacekeeping headquarters in port-au-prince was hit hard by this earthquake and presumably peacekeepers trying to send in some emergency supplies perhaps for their own personnel. >> understood. ivan watson waiting to get into the country, along with many other people and certainly by way of aid, that's one of the challenges this morning. ivan watson, we appreciate that. we'll stay in touch with you. also we are just getting word now from the white house that president obama may be giving his statement a little bit earlier than we had first expected. first we thought 10:00. now we are looking more at 9:30. whenever that event happens we will bring it to you live. now this earthquake measured 7.0. that is equal to the strength of 32 billion tons of tnt. very hard to imagine. rob marciano joins us now with more on the quake itself. >> hi, heidi. we have the quake at 7.0. you mentioned the amount of force with that. but we also have the number of aftershocks that we've seen since. right now at last check, about 34 of them. this map highlights each one of those. the last couple coming in the last couple of hours measuring 4.5, 4.7. that's enough to shake things up. certainly enough to scare people. certainly enough to bring down maybe a structure that's been compromised with this last -- with the original quake. let's talk more about what's going on here as far as the country itself, the population and i mean this really couldn't have struck in a much more worse place. the faultline itself pretty much goes right through port-au-prince. it is not that surprising. matter of fact, there have been a number of scientists over the past few years who said, you know what? they're way overdue. one professor out of havana said they're due for a big one, and soon. certainly that's come to fruition. 7.0. here's the island itself. let's zoom in to the epicenter, 10-12 miles southwest of the capital itself. in a very mountainous terrain. the other issue with this has been the depth of the shaking or the depth of the center of this. that makes a huge, huge difference. here's a graphical presentation of the shaking that you would incur if it was an earthquake that was, say, 100 miles deep and the shaking that you would incur with this one which was six miles deep. there is a big buffer zone here basically, a lot of padding between 100 miles on the surface whereas up around six miles you're right there. you're shaking it pretty good. that's why whenever we see a report come out of the usgs that has a depth of, say, 20, 30 kilometers or less, we start to get nervous. it doesn't matter really if it is 6.5, 7.5, 8.5, if it's over 6 and it's pretty shallow, it is going to do some shaking. that was one of the more alarming things with this. of course when you have very little in the way of building code and good building structure there, pretty much a third world country, you get these sort of results. i guess if there is any sort of good news spin i could give you from the weather center, weather looks fairly tranquil. for the most part, 80s over the next couple of days for the rescue efforts. >> rob, thanks so much. it is very difficult, as you would imagine, getting very many pictures out of haiti at the moment. certainly live ones, near impossible. so people there have been sending us with a they can via the internet. our josh levs is looking through all of that for us this morning from the haiti desk. josh, what do you see? >> so far that's how the world is getting the images and learning what's been going on. the internet has been a huge source of information and images so far. i'm at the cnn international desk where we are following throughout the day and night absolutely every angle on this entire story and we're following every type of social media out there as well. i want to sit on these pictures for a second. this first one, these are really striking images. what you're seeing is the power of the devastation. we're going to this video first. this video here has some images that are a little bit disturbing to some people. this is from a woman who does some missionary work down there and has -- she has been dealing with trying to go around amidst what's been happening in this devastation and seeing what's been around her. as we know, there are a lot of missionary efforts that take place inside haiti and there are a lot of missionaries who are down there. those are some of the people that americans are worried about right now. this is one example from a missionary doing some work down there, phyllis bass. she saw buildings collapsed, people screaming, see saw some things that have been very, very difficult for people to see. but obviously that's just the beginning of the devastation we're seeing right now. are we going to the rest of the pictures? no. let me just tell everyone what we're doing throughout the day. right here at this desk we are following all the social media. we also invite you to send any pictures you have. cnn.com/josh. facebook and twitter. josh levs@cnn. we're following the latest images for you, videos, photos, stories. while you are link there we link you to cnn.com/impact. impact your world, that's a good way to go. i'll be with you heidi with the latest images from haiti to try to paint the clearest picture we can for you all. >> josh, thank you. tens of thousands of americans have ties to haiti. the state department has now set up a number for americans trying to get information about family members. 1-888-407-4747. you see it there on your screen. however, the department says you might get a recording at this point because so many people are calling. make sure you keep on trying to get through. responding to a major earthquake can of course be a huge struggle for medical crews. and if it is an impoverished nation like haiti, the task is even tougher. we'll look at that in just a moment. imagine. a whole new life for your hair. aveeno nourish plus. active naturals wheat formulas... proven to target and help repair damage in just three washes... for stronger, shinier... hair with life. aveeno nourish plus. you can make a positive change in your career. you can make a greater contribution to the greater good. and you can start today, by earning your degree online... at walden university. where advanced degrees advance the quality of life. haiti's first lady is asking for first responder teams an search dogs. fairfax county, virginia urban search and rescue crew will be helping. the team responds to global disasters, even going to haiti in 2008 after a school collapsed there. reporter pamela brown of affiliate wjla joins us now from the fair tax mobilization center where crews are getting ready to deploy. good morning to you. what's going on there right now? >> reporter: heidi, rescuers from right here in fairfax county, virginia have left the mobilization center, awaiting clearance from dulles to leave for haiti. their mission will be to find survivors trapped under the rubble. this is 1 of 2 rescue teams in the u.s. being deployed to haiti. members of this team have been performing daily to perform rescue missions in natural disasters. they have the capability to look at structures and determine whether they're safe and secure to enter. of course, a very important skill especially in haiti, because the infrastructure there is not as stable. they also have canines that will go in and smell for live human scent. the team includes physicians, engineers and communications specialists. but even with all the training, skill and preparation, members say you can never truly be prepared for this kind of devastation. >> we train in a lot of different aspects of this, the physical, emotional and the whole technical piece of it. every time you go probably prepares yourself a little bit more but you have to prepare yourself mostly for when you arrive what you're going to see. i don't know that you're ever really prepared. but the fact that we're well trained and experienced i think helps us probably get over that hump just a little bit. >> reporter: this is not the first time for many of these rescuers to be deported to haiti. back in 2008, many of them were called over to help out after a school collapsed. but of course the scale of damage back then doesn't even compare, heidi, to what these rescuers are going to see today. >> there is no question. hopefully they can get in where they need to be as soon as possible. we want to go back to our haiti desk now where we are getting even more pictures every minute trying to get them out as soon as we get them. cnn's rosemary church joins us with that now. good morning, rosemary. >> reporter: hi there, heidi. it is a desperate situation there in haiti. particularly there in the capital of port-au-prince whereas we saw of course the devastation of this magnitude 7.0 earthquake. now i want to just bring up a map and just show you, give you an idea on the center of this. that earthquake was centered just 15 kilometers southwest of the capital and the city of carrefour. as of this day casualty figures are unknown but the loss of life is expected to be very high in some instances. we've learned that the red cross estimates the disaster affected 1 in 3 haitians. that is 3 million people. of course the ambassador to the u.s. says haiti's first lady told him that most of the capitca capital is in fact destroyed. also the headquarters for the u.n. mission in haiti collapsed in that quake and the head of the u.n. mission and his deputy are unaccounted for at this stage. even the national palace -- now presumably one of the sturdier buildings in port-au-prince sustained serious damage there. of course you've got to consider that even under good circumstances, building standards there in haiti are appalling in fact. so it is just devastation all around. now the u.n. secretary-general says he will visit haiti as soon as it is practically possible. ban ki-moon held a news conference moments ago. let's just listen to what he had to say. >> medical facilities have been inundated with injured. there is no doubt that we are facing a major humanitarian emergency and that a major relief effort will be required. i am grateful to those countries that are sending emergency relief. i urge all members of the international community to come to haiti's aid in this hour of need. >> certainly a desperate need, too. you know, this is our center here. this is the hub of cnn and if you look over here, we've got christine, if we just pan over to your right there. christine is pulling in all of the video available from various news sources and from i-report, those people on the ground in haiti are sending in their own i-reports, either in the form of video or in the form of pictures. in fact we had the first idea of just how devastating this earthquake was through our reports coming in on i-report. so it gives you that idea an how we're pulling this in, everyone here working on haiti and of course other issues, but that's one of the main ones. we want to find out what's going on there. we want to hear from people if they're there. they can send any information they have at twitter. just send it on haiticnn. i-reports come in here, they get screened, and if they can go to air, they will. >> these next 72 hours, these next few days are going to be absolutely critical in trying to gl get to some of these people who may still be alive and trapped and who knows what in all of this debris. rosemary, we'll check back with you throughout the morning. we want to remind you that we are aware president obama will be coming out to make a statement today. we believe that could happen as early as 9:30 this morning. just as soon as it happens, you will see it here live on cnn. meanwhile, an incredible story. the last flight out. passengers aboard a u.s. jetliner from haiti share the stories of horror and destruction as they take off. we're on the verge of 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[ chuckles ] wow! good luck getting your remote back. it's all right -- i love this channel. shopping less and saving more. now, that's progressive. call or click today. rescue crews are desperately trying to find survivors in the aftermath of a major earthquake in haiti. the red cross says as many as 3 million people are affected by this 7.0 quake. we've seen numerous collapsed buildings, including the presidential palace and the united nations headquarters. the leader of an al qaeda cell is dead in yemen. the yemeni government says the man was killed in a clash with security forces east of the capital of sanaa. four other al qaeda suspects were arrested in a separate operation in the same area. the house intelligence committee meeting behind closed doors this hour looking into the attempted attack on northwest airlines flight 253 in detroit. administration officials are testifying at that briefing, talking about the circumstances leading up to the incident and how the suspect umar farouk abdulmutallab was able to get on to a plane bound for the united states. bank ceos in the hot seat this hour on capitol hill. they're going before the financial crisis inquiry commission. a bipartisan panel investigating the causes of the financial meltdown. appearing today, the heads of goldman sachs, jpmorgan chase, morgan stanley and bank of america. all of those companies took bail outmoney from taxpayers. dddd the last flight out of haiti shortly after the quake hit was american airlines flight 1908. passengers arrived at miami international airport still in shock. they described a scene of fear and chaos. >> everybody was shocking, like thinking that we were going to die because the building, the airport was like collapsing with us. >> everybody got scared. i never saw such a thing in my entire life. that was like the end of the world. and, you know, it just -- you know, there is no word actually to explain that. >> many of the passengers scheduled to take that american airlines flight opted to stay behind. medical teams responding now that pictures of the haitian earthquake are facing special and unique challenges. cnn medical correspondent elizabeth cohen joining us from the medical update desk. what do we know about the health situation there so early on as they are just trying to assess with the daylight they have at this time -- we should mention it is the same time zone so we are looking at 9:24 eastern time and in haiti this morning. >> right. we just got off the phone with the inred cross. they said that they're on their way. but having dealt with many situations like this, they said this is what they anticipate. obviously a high number of injuries due to crushing, people caught under the rubble, caught in the concrete and they said it is not too late to try to rescue those people but after a couple of days, it does become too late. the other category or problems that they are looking at are infectious diseases. during a hurricane, the sanitation system is wiped out, the sewage system is wiped out. so what they're worried about is that in the days and weeks to come they're going to see a huge number of cases of infectious disease. we are talking diseases like for example typhoid, dysentery, cholera, dengae fever, measles. that is a huge concern. heidi, since it is so difficult to get information out of haiti, we are asking if folks know anything about the health situation there, send me a twit at elizcohencnn@twitter. >> crews have to think of these issues right off the bat of sanitation. it is certain that we are going to be seeing dead bodies here. so clearly they have to think about this simultaneously with a rescue mission. >> yes and that is a very delicate situation to talk with. there is a common myth i'm told by the red cross that dead bodies are a public health threat. it is a myth, dead bodies are not a public health threat. obviously you don't want dead bodies lying there, you want to bury the dead as quickly as you can. but as long as people aren't touching a bhoddy that's contaminated with an infectious disease that people would be okay, they don't cause a threat unless you touch them and unless the body is infected. i think that's important to get out there. i think people think of dead bodies as a huge threat. >> just so hopeful it is not going to be what many of us are fearing in all of this, really amazing that we don't have any type of estimation at this point, even this far after the original event. it kind of highlights how bad it could be. we will continue to follow this story very, very closely trying to get some of those numbers which i'm sure will change throughout the morning. quickly, what about the situation of hospitals? are we getting any word on whether or not some of those structures are still standing? >> we're told this is a very bad situation, heidi. at least one of the major hospitals we're told was badly, badly damaged. it may not be accepting new patients or any patients at all. so this is a very difficult situation. the red cross folks say that they hope to get there tonight and that the first thing they're going to do is try to build up what they call a rapid deployment hospital. that hospital will only have 20 beds. as you can imagine, that's a tiny fraction probably of the number of beds that they're going to need. >> no question. elizabeth, thanks so much. so getting the aid is not the problem. getting the aid to the people who need it certainly could be. we are checking on efforts to be sure supply planes can actually land in haiti. to a cough. to a full body ache... at night. new tylenol cold rapid release gels day and night work fast too. they release medicine fast to relieve painful coughs, congestion and sore throats. so you can rest, day and night. feel better, tylenol cold. carrefour. ♪ [ female announcer ] get the taste of a home-cooked meal at work with new marie callender's home-style creations. marie callender's home-style creations -- a little touch of home for lunch. [ male announcer ] becky loves marie callender's home-style creations. but where does she find them? not in the freezer section. that's why becky uses gps. not that kind. go to the pasta or soup aisle to find marie callender's home-style creations. keep up the good work, becky. rescue efforts under way right now in haiti. people there had to wait for first light to see just how much damage was done by this major earthquake of 7.0. many buildings collapsed, including the presidential palace. the red cross says as many as 3 million people are affected. the quake did the most damage to the capital port-au-prince, home to 2 million people. we are awaiting remarks from president obama on the devastation in haiti. it is expected next hour. we are hearing a lot of different times about this. want to assure you that just as soon as we get the president we will be putting him live on television. want to get to suzanne malveaux for the very latest on this and what we can expect to hear from president obama. suzanne, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, heidi. white house aides are telling me that that address by the president in the diplomatic reception room will happen between 10:00 and 10:15 or so, it will be a brief statement. essentially what aides have been telling me this morning since the early morning is that the president of course has been getting many, many briefings on this, as early as 7:15 this morning he was with his national security team, the homeland security national operations center to be specific about what kind of coordinated and aggressive effort can the u.s. government be involved with haiti to make sure people are in fact are reached in a timely manner, that time is of the essence. he also talked with his national security advisor getting two memos this morning essentially an update in terms of what all these different departments are doing, how they are coordinating their effort. it was late last night, heidi, about 10:00 in the situation room with a high-level meeting involves homeland security, coast guard, you name it, sitting down trying to figure out how to mobilize and move things as quickly as possible. senior administration officials say priorities are helping the haitian people, also to help with the recovery effort to find missing americans. they know that there are americans who have also been impacted by this as well. then to try to coordinate the state department as well as the red cross and getting donations that americans might want to make to people who are in haiti or haitian americans themselves so that all these pieces come together. the president, senior officials know, that time is really, really important, getting there as quickly as possible, mobilizing. this president says he is going to make a very concerted effort to do just that, heidi. >> suzanne, any idea at this point of whether or not the president will be giving the order for the hospital ship, the "uss kcomfort"? i know they are standing by. >> reporter: they are standing by. it may take as many as perhaps five days to actually move and get into place. he is working with the pentagon, working with the defense department to make sure that all of these things are happening. we don't know whether or not he has given that order for that specific ship that acts as a hospital to get there. but we do know that there is a coast guard cutter that's already arrived in haiti, that the state department has already been making various moves, they've reached out to the ambassador there in haiti, that the president has talked to the ambassador about the things that are needed and things that are needed right away. we should be getting more information, more details about whether or not that's part of this whole big picture operation. >> very good. suzanne, thank you. great time for us to talk more about the state department. the u.s. is sending humanitarian aid to haiti but we are hearing reports that the port-au-prince airport control tower has collapsed so will the people who desperately need this now be able to get it as quickly as possible? our cnn foreign affairs correspondent jill dougherty is at the state department this morning with the very latest on how the u.s. is trying to help in all of this. >> heidi, a very important thing on the airport. we're told just a few minutes ago by p.j. crowley, the spokesperson for state department, that the coast guard is carrying out reconnaissance flights looking specifically at that airport. and it does appear to be functioning. in fact, that report that the tower collapsed he said is not correct. the tower is still there. the tarmac is in good shape and there is electric. so those are all very good pieces of news. and then based on that, that means that these teams, these d.a.r.t. teams, as they're called, disaster assistance response teams, can now begin to go in. those are the teams that have dogs, they have equipment, they have expert personnel who can really get in there and begin to help the people who need immediate help. other information from p.j. crowley -- there are an amazing number of american citizens -- 40,000 to 45,000 americans there. so far, no reports of any confirmed deaths. there are some injured and we're told there are about a dozen, which includes u.s. citizens and members of the embassy staff who are now at the embassy and they are being treated. they do think those numbers are going to go up through the day. then finally on the ships, coast guard ships are on their way. we are also told by the state department on the" comfort" hospital ship, the staff is being recalled and they're being prepared to take off. this whole effort as we've been saying has to be carefully coordinated among all of thieves government agencies and the chairman of the joint chiefs, admiral mike mullen, says this is really an all-out effort. here's what he said. >> the united states is going to do all we can to help. we've worked throughout the night to figure out how we can do that and do it as rapidly as possible. an awful lot of peek working in that direction right now. i know there are also significant international efforts and all of those will be greatly appreciated. yeah. so again at the state department, there is a task force that's meeting right here really around the clock basis. we'll get a briefing in another 1 1/2 hours or so. we'll be back to you with a lot more information throughout the day. >> jill, couple more things. it is so difficult in coordinating all of this, as we just heard from admiral mullen. but the fact of the matter is, the clock is ticking and people are likely dying so you have to wonder how quickly rescuers can get in. back to your point about the control tower. is anyone telling you whether or not that control tower is actually necessary for these planes to be able to land? >> i think you'd have to coordinate the planes coming in. so some type of functioning tower will have to be there. interestingly, the u.s. ambassador himself went out to the airport and assessed what was going on and p.j. crowley told us that the ambassador actually saw a plane landing. so again, some good news on the airport. on the teams, there's a team that's coming in, the d.a.r.t. teams, they are search and rescue. there is one team that's already coming in that afternoon, early this afternoon from costa rica. later the team from fairfax, virginia will be coming in, and then also that l.a., los angeles, team is expected to be coming in tomorrow morning. so they should be on their way and they're going to speed that up if they can. >> very good. jill dougherty, thanks so much from the state department this morning. the u.n. world food program regularly feeds more than 1 million people in haiti and is planning on sending more food aid in the wake of this earthquake. the agency spokeswoman joins us now live from new york with the latest. good morning to you. can you give us an update as to what's happening here? >> yes. we are launching the -- the world food program is launching a massive aid operation, mobilizing all of our teams. one team has already gone into the dominican republic. we're gearing up for a massive aid operation. what we are doing is plane full of these high-end biscuits is leaving from el salvador either to haiti directly, or if we cannot land there, then into the dominican republic. these high-energy biscuits feed a person for a day, has all the nutrients. we're shipping in as a very first step enough food for 30,000 people for a week. but that's just the very initial step. with some 3 million people, according to the first estimates, affected by this disaster, huge amounts of food will have to be brought in. we do have of course food stocks on the ground. we have some concern that people are so desperate that there might be looting, but we really need a lot. and if people want to help, i urge you to go to wfp.org and make a donation. you can really make a difference today. >> i want to back up really quickly. the bars that you show that will be very helpful in all of this so far have only made their way in to santo domingo. what are you hearing about actually getting them all the way in to where they are needed? how will they get there? >> they would get -- what we are trying to find out is just as we were just discussing earlier, the question is whether we can land on the air strip there. if we can get in there, we do it that way. if not we go into the neighboring country, the dominican republic. we are mobilizing huge logistical operation. the world food program not only does food aid but we also support all of our u.n. partners in the other ngos in logistical work and in i.t. equipment. from the dominican republic we either use trucks or ships or helicopters to get food in to port-au-prince. we have more than 200 aid workers on a regular basis already on the ground in haiti and of course they have lost their homes. our office building at the u.n. compound was apparently the only one that is still standing. >> so you've been able to speak with most of your employees and you've been able to contact them as to their well being? >> it's very, very hard to contact them. but as far as we have heard, all of our staff are accounted for. there might have been some injuries but we count our blessings there. those people are ready to help their countrymen and to help the people of haiti and just remember, you know, haiti has barely recovered from these devastating three hurricanes and a tropical storm in september of 2008. malnutrition rates, every fourth child on haiti is malnourished. those people need help and you can help. >> and it is urgent, that is for certain. we sure do appreciate it this morning. thank you for the work that you do. want to give you fast facts on haiti now. about 9 million people live there according to numbers from july of last year. haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. 80% of the population lives under the poverty line. and more than half the population lives on less than $1 a day. haiti's already limited infrastructure was further damaged as we were just talking about in 2008 when four tropical storms hit the island nation. haiti also suffers from high crime and widespread disease. our information comes from the cia and state department websites. the united nations mission rocked by the earthquake. their headquarters collapsed. workers trapped inside. devastation and despair in haiti this morning after that massive earthquake. it collapsed several government buildings, including the president dengs palace. but the haitian ambassador to the united states says the first family is safe. he talked about what's going on there earlier on cnn's "american morning." >> we talked with the first lady of haiti last night. at least our consulate general in miami did and she said that she was all right and the president was all right and most government officials were all right because this thing happened after hours and most of the government buildings that have collapsed collapsed after the employees were out. the bad news is that she said most of port-au-prince is destroyed and she's calling for some help in the form of a hospital ship off the coast of port-au-prince just in the same way that the united states had helped us in 2008 after four hurricanes hit haiti in three weeks. >> the headquarters of the united nations mission in haiti is among the buildings that have collapsed in this earthquake. rescuers sifting through the rubble now to find survivors. the u.n. secretary-general held a briefing last hour to update the situation there. cnn's senior united nations correspondent richard roth joins us now live from new york with more of this. >> hi, heidi. this could be one of the worst days ever for the united nations, let alone the people of haiti and what they are going through. the united nations saying as many as five people killed at the u.n. peacekeeping compound that had been pulled out. some others injured. there are at least 100 people missing, including, according to the u.n. secretary-general, the leader of the united nations mission on haiti. >> mr. arrabie was having a visit with the visiting china delegation. unfortunately now we are unable to have any confirmation about the safety of him. >> the u.n. building was a former hotel constructed in the 1960s, reportedly enforced with concrete. the building has collapsed. the u.n. peacekeepers overnight formed a cordon around the building, began a massive rescue operation. u.n. secretary-general ban says he fears there are hundreds, maybe thousands dead in haiti. >> richard, thanks for that. we'll check in with you later. for now we want to get to one of the most incredible stories we have already heard coming out of haiti, and that is this passenger jet. american airlines flight 1908 that apparently took off from haiti about an hour and a half or so after the quake hit. we have a passenger from that flight available to us now. mr. omar is on the line. thanks so much for being with us. how are you doing this morning? >> yeah, i'm doing okay but it is like after seeing all these things live over there i was at the haiti airport and like, you know, just getting back, you know. >> i can only imagine what you must have left behind. were you already on the tarmac when this happened or maybe run us through a little bit about how the events took place. >> yeah, i was at the airport and like first of all, like i was staying at the hotel montana which already collapsed. like i left from the hotel around like 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon and i think this happened at 5:00 p.m. the hotel collapsed. and then like i was at the airport and they started the boarding for the flight around 4:45 and, just before 5:00 this thing happened and like we were having like almost 50-plus passengers already on the plane and i was wath iting on my grouo board the plane. there was a lot of running around, here and there, like screaming and like the ceiling fall down. >> so did they tell you to get on the plane? >> yeah. it was just general normal boarding the way it is and like, you know, while it was boarding and then this thing happened. but like after this thing happened, like they just make some of the people that are already there, then they just started running around. then actually this thing happened before i even board the plane. >> understood. so once you got on the plane and when all of this was going on, what did you feel? >> yeah, i feel bad for the people who just run away and went outside the building of the airport. this was a full flight though. i think it was 250 passengers or so on the plane and like we end up taking like 50 or 70 passengers only. you know? and other people who left the building outside the airport, they were not able to come back because everybody was worried that like the building will collapse and the airport will fall down and i posted i posted pictures on the website also on the cnn and like that's the picture i took of all the tower and the building and all those things at the airport. but we were just like close to the plane, because they even let the people out again from the plane and then like we were standing outside on the ground near the plane and i felt aftershocks and all those things while i was standing near the plane. >> what was the mood on that plane? >> well, everybody was scared because like it just happened and for 30, 40 seconds nobody even know and nobody even realize what is happening. everybody was thinking something got stuck to the plane and when we were on the bridge we thought the plane came into the bridge. i was just under the impression that the big plane was going to land and it just went very low from the bridge, that's why it happened. but after all we just came to learn it was an earthquake, you know. >> yes. so are you able to tell us anything about what you saw as you were taking off? >> yeah, i saw the ceiling came down, the railings got broken. on the walls there were so many cracks and then like on the tower, all the screen of the actual tower were broken. >> so you did not see the tower, the control tower collapse at any time? >> it didn't collapse, it was still there. but like while this thing happened, i was on the bridge before i boarded the plane. >> understood. >> but afterwards, i went on the other side where they were boarding, you know, and then like they make us go down on the runway side, you know. >> understood. all right, we appreciate your story this morning and certainly thinking about you. you have family still back in haiti? >> yes, i do have family but i was out of communication and everything. while i came back on this flight to miami, i call home and then i learn how bad this earthquake was and -- >> is your family okay, sir? >> yes, yes, they are okay. >> omar dakwala, again, certainly do appreciate your story this morning. passenger on that american airlines flight 1908. incredible story. all around them are crumbling buildings and desperate rescue efforts. survivor accounts and images of the devastation in haiti. our focus this morning, the devastation in haiti. cnn covering all of the angles. we have correspondents pretty much everywhere for this. first we want to get to jill dougherty at the state department. hi, jill. >> reporter: the u.s. is sending search and rescue teams into haiti to get help to the people who need it as soon as possible. >> i'm rob marciano in the cnn severe weather center. today a lot of earthquake talk. we'll give you some perspective when the last time this has happened, why this place is so active and talk about the people that were raising the red flag just a few years ago saying this was going to be the spot where the next big one happened. that's next hour. >> reporter: injuries, infectious disease, devastated hospitals. what rescue workers expect to see when they reach haiti. i'm elizabeth cohen in atlanta and i'll have that at the top of the hour. >> thanks, everybody. also rushing to haiti's side. supporters of an organization that's been working to improve the lives of haitians for nearly 15 years. its director will be joining us coming up in the newsroom. eee quickly want to remind you that we are awaiting president barack obama to give comments in a statement regarding the earthquake in haiti. we are expecting that pretty much any moment between now and about 10:15. that's the estimation. so when it happens, we of course will bring it to you live directly. we want to get to our news that's happening right now. of course this is all regarding the earthquake in haiti. some anxious moments for haitians americans. people are desperately trying to reach relatives in haiti to see if they survived that devastating earthquake. we're talking about a 7.0 here. they're also meeting to figure out how to get more aid to their homeland. meanwhile countries throughout the world are pledging to help with disaster relief in haiti. teams from across the u.s. government including the defense and homeland security departments are coordinating efforts. the agency for international development said a disaster response team will be going in today. a specialized rescue team from the los angeles county fire department getting ready to head to the disaster zone in haiti as well. the unit includes paramedics, search dogs and communications specialists. it also includes rescuers trained in sifting through collapsed buildings to find victims. this is a catastrophe, a terrible catastrophe, very, very serious for haiti, which did not need this and we also need to think about security because in all these catastrophes which take place in situations of terrible poverty, even the daily seeking for food is very hard. >> comments there from the french foreign minister. in the next several minutes president obama is going to be talking about the earthquake in haiti and the u.s. promise of aid. again, we will bring it to you live just as soon as he makes his way to that podium. rescue efforts happening right now in haiti as many people get a first look at the devastation from the earthquake. it was centered near port-au-prince and caused massive damage not only in the capital city but elsewhere. as many as two million of haiti's nine million people live in the capital. the head of the united nations mission in haiti is missing. the u.n. headquarters there is one of the many collapsed buildings. u.n. secretary general says rescue crews are trying to get to survivors stuck in the rubble. the u.s. coast guard assessing the damage from the air right now to see if it's safe for the arrival of american disaster teams. there's also a coast guard cutter there now already in order to help with evacuations as need be. getting aid in while that clock is ticking and ticking fast, people who survived the quake need help right now but can search teams and supplies get in there soon enough? the condition of port-au-prince's airport has been one of those worries. jill dougherty has an update on that now live from the state department. >> reporter: hey, heidi. when you think of those rescue teams, they're really primed, they're ready to go at any time but the question is can they get in. so that's why the overflights and the reconnaissance flights by the coast guard was so important. was the airport functioning. the state department just a few minutes ago did say that their latest information is that the airport is functioning, that it does have -- there had been reports about the tower being knocked down but they say that's not true. >> understood. jill, forgive me for having to interrupt you. we want to take a moment to get to anderson cooper who is actually in a helicopter above port-au-prince at the moment. he has more to tell us about exactly what he's able to see. anderson. anderson, are you with me? unfortunately, as you would imagine, communication in a helicopter above port-au-prince at the very moment is very difficult. we are continuing to try to make that connection with anderson and just as soon as we get it, we will go back to him so we might be able to get an idea of what exactly he's seeing right now. jill, i want to get back to you, talking more about the airport here and one of the big concerns about whether or not planes are going to be able to land if in fact that control tower has been damaged to the point where it can't control those flow of planes, whether or not radar will be able to be used in order to get those planes down anyway. >> reporter: yeah. well, that's all of the question, but the initial indications are that that airport is in some way or another at least physically functioning and they could certainly get some personnel in there to begin to help to get it functioning, to bring those teams in. those are the teams that really have the manpower and the equipment and the dogs, people who can really go in and find people who need help as quickly as possible. also on the u.s. citizens, there's a surprisingly large number of american citizens in haiti. 40 to 45,000 we are told by the state department. initial reports are there are no confirmed reports that anyone has died. that's initial reports. there are some americans who are gathered at the airport we are told and there will be efforts to get them out as quickly as possible. and then finally, there are some wounded. they say -- the state department says about a dozen people who were gathered at the embassy and that includes civilians, it includes some state department personnel, families, et cetera, who are wounded, who are injured and they are being treated. and then finally the coast guard ships are going in as well. >> yeah, we understand that as well. we'll get back to that, jill, forgive me. i want to try to get to anderson again who once again is in a helicopter above port-au-prince. anderson we see you now. tell us what you are able to see below. >> reporter: well, i can tell you we just landed at the port-au-prince airport. i flew in a helicopter with the minister of public works who's been sent by the president to assess what needs the dominican republic can fulfill. i can tell you i just flew over port-au-prince and seeing it for the first time, it's incredibly shocking. the presidential palace, as you know, parts of it have collapsed. part of the front of it has collapsed. there is smoke rising from some parts of the city. people are congregating on corners, in public parks where a number of people obviously have slept through the night. i passed over cite soleil a city of shanty towns and there is damage there as well. it is an eerie scene. many people just kind of standing around on the streets, not really sure what to do or where to go. and for many, there is nowhere to go. as i said, it seems like the heaviest damage that i could see was in the downtown part around the presidential palace. major buildings there, some very tall buildings clearly having collapsed. they pancaked the floors one or top of another. there's very little earth-moving equipment in place here. i also flew on the chopper with a man whose company is doing work for the idb and they have sent in shipments of bull dozers that they have to work on their private construction projects but i'm not seeing a lot on the streets here right now. people really just milling around. it is very hectic. it is confusing. people aren't sure where to go. the scene at the airport is oddly calm. we were one of the first helicopters to arrive here this morning. there's now just as i've been speaking about two small planes which have arrived with a number of relief workers, some members of the international red cross and others. but it is a very confused situation. these are very much the early moments of this and people are just slowly starting to arrive. aid has yet to arrive. i know there's a lot coming in the pipeline. i've talked to the world food program and others. they're trying to get here. but at this point it is the early hours and you can see from the air what was so eerie, you can see from the air people gathered around collapsed buildings clearly trying to rescue people inside, trying to see if there's anyone trapped beneath the rubble, but it is largely just neighborhoods banding together trying to help one another. it doesn't look like there's any kind of coordinated relief effort in terms of rescue at this point. it is very much neighborhood by neighborhood people digging through the rubble. >> wow, anderson, i just wonder so much, i know you got in by helicopter, obviously that requires a very different type of landing because we're trying to find out more about the aid you speak of around whether or not the planes can get in. we've been talking about the hospital ship and the cutter that is in position. when you look around, anderson, i realize you just got on the ground, are people carrying any water bottles? is there even the slightest bit of food or water best that you can tell? >> reporter: you know, i really don't know what the situation -- i've been told that the main hotel has been destroyed, but again i have not seen that with my own eyes. i did not fly over petionville but i have been told there is widespread damage there as well. one of the problems with so much of the construction here is they don't use reinforced concrete. there's no steel rebars in the concrete so buildings literally just collapse on whoever is inside. i can tell you the situation in the air is chaotic at best. the control tower, i'm told, here at the airport is not functioning. so pilots are sort of coordinating flights by themselves. we came very close to a midair collision right over the presidential palace with a small aircraft or fixed wing aircraft, came very close to our helicopter. we literally took evasive maneuvers at the last moment and then quickly decided to just get down on the ground because the situation in the air is confusing. so in terms of coordinating large-scale aircraft, which is what they're going to need here, while the runway looks okay to the human eye, you know, the control situation in the air is very dicey. >> understood very well. that's what we're trying to get the best assessment of, whether or not there is any functioning radar whatsoever that's being able to be used if not from that control tower, perhaps somewhere elsewhere they can guide these planes and helicopters and everything else that's going to be needed into the area directly. anderson, what's next for you? >> reporter: well, we've got to figure out where to go from here. we literally just landed. i got on the helicopter by myself with the minister of public works and the president of a construction company. they were nice enough to give me a lift. they're going to try to coordinate dominican relief that's waiting at the border. my team has also just arrived in a fixed wing aircraft. i see them walking in and checking in through immigration. believe it or not immigration still seems to be functioning so the bureaucracy of the airport is still in place. we're going to try to get the vehicles and start telling people's stories and go out and see where we can help and see what needs to be done. >> all right, anderson cooper, sure do appreciate that. we'll be watching and hearing from you throughout the travels there. anderson cooper, thank you. appreciate that. the major earthquake that hit haiti was obviously of no surprise to some scientists who said this was coming. we'll find out how accurate they really are and a little later on we'll talk with rob marciano about that. in the meantime i want to get over to josh levs because as you can imagine daylight is upon haiti now, same time zone as eastern time zone so it is a little after 10:00 and josh has been watching some of these pictures that have been coming in and has them now. >> reporter: good morning, heidi. we're getting so much video. right here on cnn.com on our main page, you're seeing some of the video right there on the main screen along with it. what i'm going to do is take you to some of the images we've been picking up from the web because we're seeing a lot of images pass by your eyes. you're going to get a sense of the extent of the horror of what we're talking about. daniel mora was in the capital when this happened. you can see those giant slabs of concrete. you can see it's not as simple as these buildings crumbling into powder. what you're seeing are massive and in some cases huge pieces, huge slabs of concrete just toppling on top of people, on top of trucks as you're seeing there, on top of having inside those structures. let's go through a couple more here. we picked these pictures up from twitpic. that one right there is really striking because you can see the bright sky behind it and the pure devastation all around it. perhaps the most striking is this next one right here where you can see the horror that this woman is going through. we don't know her full story, if she's stuck inside or if she's one of the people who climbed in after, but we can see the anguish on her face and we can certainly see the devastation that has taken place all over that area. as part of the story we have a lot going on that's interactive. there's one big thing i want you to know about. one of the biggest things i'm hearing from you is i have relatives there, i have friends there, how can i find them. lots of video coming in from ireport.com. you can see an example here. one of the tasks that we have going on for today at ireport.com is this. if you're looking for your loved ones in haiti, our folks at ireport.com are setting up a system basically. you send in photos of whoever it is you're concerned about and your descriptions of them and we are encouraging everyone who is in haiti who is able to see these or is getting any images from haiti to see if you recognize any of these people. ireport.com action more images to come there. a lot of people sharing photos and information. at twitter this -- we are following everything here. tens of millions of people in america alone or n twitter, pound cnn haiti. send your photos, your videos, your stories. we're seeing more and more like this throughout the day, these powerful images that helps you understand the extent of the horror. we'll continue to bring that to you throughout the day, heidi. >> all right, josh, thank you. we'll check back with you a little later on. meanwhile this earthquake that hit so hard in haiti and so big, 7.0, we've been talking about it all morning long. did some scientists know it was coming? we'll tell you about the warning signs in a moment. 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g'night mary ellen. mary ellen: g'night mama. g'night erin. elizabeth: g'night john boy. jim bob: g'night grandpa. elizabeth: g'night ben. m bob:'night. elizabeth: g'night jim bob. jim bob: g'night everybody, grandpa: g'night everybody. @y jim bob: g'night daddy. vo: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more. scientists have wander for years that the island of hispaniola was at a risk of a major earthquake. rob marciano is here to give us a little more on this. so, rob, there were signs out there, there were often signs for things like this. the question is how do you read them really? how do you know when it's actually the time? >> well, the science for predicting earthquakes is pretty rudimentary at this point, and most guys out of the usgs will say there's just no science to back it up at this point. but there was a professor out of the university of havana back in october '08 that said boldly that the port-au-prince area would endure a earthquake of 7.2 magnitude soon. and he says because of the smaller earthquakes that were happening previously. but i spoke with a professor out of georgia tech university, kurt frankel, and he says there's basically no proven science to back up those kind of predictions and most scientists out of the usgs would say the same thing. so that could very well be a matter of somebody swinging for the fences and hitting a home run. regardless, it is certainly disturbing when you look at the results of what has happened here. there were scientists recently that also said it's not a matter of if, but when. that's just a probability aspect. when you have what is essentially a very high risk area, you've got a fault that goes right through here that's the equivalent or similarities to the san andreas faults in california. but the same physics are happening where you have one item going this way -- or rather this way and the other one coming this way. anyway, this is the map that shows the amount of shaking that was felt here. notice that it's kind of off the center. the center is here, but most of the shaking was down north and west of the center, closer to the coastline. that could very well be a matter of what kind of rock was there. typically you get to the coastline and the rock is looser, it's not as compact, whereas where the epicenter is it's more bedrock at the higher elevati elevation. nonetheless, the amount of strong shaking was felt around port-au-prince so that is where we're seeing most of the damage. we'll slide up and show you the scale here. when you talk about the number of people that were affected by this, the number of people here affected by moderate to heavy shaking, over a million people. so that's why we're seeing that sort of damage there. bad spot to have this, but given that that's where that fault lies, that's not entirely surprising, but very, very difficult, if not impossible to predict. >> yeah, understood. and also so much harder because of the hurricanes that had hit earlier. rob, thanks for that. we want to get now directly to president barack obama and his statements on the haiti earthquake. >> this morning i want to extend to the people of haiti the deep condolences and unwavering support of the american people following yesterday's terrible earthquake. we are just now beginning to learn the extent of the devastation. but the reports and images that we've seen of collapsed hospitals, crumbled homes and men and women carrying their injured neighbors through the streets are truly heart-wrenching. indeed for a country and a people who are no strangers to hardship and suffering, this tragedy seems especially cruel and incomprehensible. our thoughts and prayers are also with the many haitian americans around our country who do not yet know the fate of their families and loved ones back home. i have directed my administration to respond with a swift, coordinated and aggressive effort to save lives. the people of haiti will have the full support of the united states and the urgent effort to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble and to deliver the humanitarian relief, the food, water and medicine that haitians will need in the coming days. in that effort our government, especially usaid and the departments of state and defense are working closely together and with our partners in haiti, the region and around the world. right now our efforts are focused on several urgent priorities. first, we're working quickly to account for u.s. embassy personnel and their families in port-au-prince as well as the many american citizens who live and work in haiti. americans trying to locate family members in haiti are encouraged to contact the state department at 888-407-4747. i'm going to repeat that. 888-407-4747. second, we've mobilized resources to help rescue efforts. military overflights have assessed the damage and by early afternoon our civilian disaster assistance teams are beginning to arrive. search and rescue teams from florida, virginia and california will arrive throughout today and tomorrow. more rescue and medical equipment and emergency personnel are being prepared. because in disasters such as this the first hours and days are absolutely critical to saving lives and avoiding even greater tragedy, i have directed my teams to be as forward leaning as possible in getting the help on the ground and coordinating with our international partners as well. third, given the many different resources that are needed, we are taking steps to ensure that our government acts in a unified way. my national security team has led an interagency effort overnight and to ensure we coordinate our effort going forward, i've designated the administrator of the u.s. agency for international development to be our government's unified disaster coordinator. this rescue and recovery effort will be complex and challenging. as we move resources into haiti, we will be working closely with partners on the ground, including the many ngos from haiti and across haiti, the united nations stabilization mission, which appears to have suffered its own losses, and our partners in the region and around the world. this must truly be an international effort. finally, let me just say that this is a time when we are reminded of the common humanity that we all share. with just a few hundred miles of ocean between us and a long history that binds us together, haitians are our neighbors in the americas and here at home. so we have to be there for them in their hour of need. despite the fact that we are experiencing tough times here at home, i would encourage those americans who want to support the urgent humanitarian efforts to go to white house.gov where you can learn how to contribute. we must be prepared for difficult hours and days ahead as we learn about the scope of the tragedy. we will keep the victims and their families in our prayers. we will be resolute in our response and i pledge to the people of haiti that you will have a friend and partner in the united states of america today and going forward. may god bless the people of haiti and those working on their behalf. thank you very much. >> all right. president barack obama this morning making his statements about the earthquake in haiti. vice president joe biden standing behind him there, really trying hard now to contact americans living and working in haiti. according to the state department, that's something like 40 to 45,000 people so that will be a task as well as all the coordination of the relief efforts that you heard him speak about. dr. shaw will be heading up that united effort. once again the number for the state department we're about to put it on screen if you have questions or concerns about family members living or working in haiti. as you would imagine, a lot of challenges this morning for haiti. the lines of communication certainly spotty right now. many haitians here in the united states hanging on to any information that they can get. one of the people who's keeping them updated in all of this is ri rico due pray. he's been broadcasting through the night and into this morning. he's joining us now. tell us about your show and what you've been hearing. are people calling into you and asking you questions? what are you able to inform them of. >> thank you, heidi, for having me. well, since 6:00 p.m. last night we've been at it. the station has been deluged with calls from listeners trying to find out the extent of the devastation in haiti and trying to find out if their loved ones have been spared. it's been very frustrating because for a number of hours we have no communication with haiti at all. we didn't know what to tell the people. as a radio station, our job is to provide them information so we failed miserably in that sense because the communication system did not work. so they didn't know what was going on. so now it has hit them with its full impact. it has come true to them and so this morning since a quarter to 6:00 they have been calling with intensity trying to -- hoping that i could tell them your area, their area has been spared, but of course i can't do that. so this thing has hit them with the full force in my view today. >> boy, i can only imagine and i can see the pain on your face there. for what it's worth, you haven't failed miserably. it's difficult for all of us trying to get this information out to everyone who so desperately wants to know about family members in haiti and what the true sense of devastation really is. we're learning all of that this morning. 10:30 there now in haiti just as it is here on the east coast. do you have family there? have you been able to contact anyone that you personally know? >> well, for 15 hours it's been very, very tense because i could not determine the whereabouts of my family. i have two aunts there in haiti and a number of cousins whom i'm very, very close to. so we called them. the phone rang but nobody picked up. i tended to assume that they were hit, they were killed. but fortunately 45 minutes ago i was told by my cousin in montreal that they got in touch with them and they are okay. >> oh, well that's terrific news for you in all of this. i know that you're very worried about many other people and certainly your listeners are worried about their family members as well. for you we're very happy for you and thanks so much for being available to us. i know that you will be working diligently for as long as it takes to get more information out to your listeners. thanks so much for sharing your story with us this morning. called into action, a nonprofit development organization turns its attention to bringing relief to haiti. we'll talk to the group in just a moment. 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i know that your organization is an independent organization that actually is working very hard to shape the future of haiti. poorest country in the world where 80% of its people are living in poverty. what are you going to be able to do at this time? >> well, it's important to say that fokal is not a relief organization. we were founded in '95 and we're an independent organization, an independent foundation supported by the open society institute. thanks to the generosity of philanthropist george soros we've been operational for many years now. unfortunately even though we're not a relief organization, we have to step up and help in relief efforts one way or the other because the country is in ruins. buildings have collapsed. and the needs are great. so even with the multitude of ngos on the ground, the need is so great that everybody has to pull in together and try and do something to help. and so i think that's where fokal comes in. we have a web of about 35 libraries throughout the country and i'm hoping that they're still standing and that the buildings are not demolished and that somehow people can congregate to those libraries and have access to the internet or meet with members of the community and assess the needs on the spot. and we're also from the u.s., we're accepting contributions online through our website and it's fokal-usa.org. they can also mail contributions to fokal in the u.s. and so they can send it to fokal-usa at 400 west 59th street, new york, new york, 10019. and they should list that it's for relief effort. but i can confirm to you, heidi, that all the funds that we receive today going forward will be for relief efforts. and 100% of those funds, because we don't take anything for operational expenses. those are covered separately. >> quickly before we let you go, linda, how far back, is it even possible to discuss all of the work that your organization does regarding education and economic activity and everything you guys have done, something like this of this magnitude, it seems to push haiti back many, many steps. and the work that will have to be done. >> it does, it does. it does. it sets us back, but i think the haitian people are very resilient and the one thing that fokal has always been strong at is basically saying that haitians are there on the ground helping other haitians. so it's a matter of empowering one another because we focus on the youth, we focus on marginalized people, on peasants and we also focus on women. and these are really four core groups of people that are in need of dire help. the headquarters of fokal in haiti is on avenue cristof. up until now i have no idea how the headquarters has survived but i'm hoping that the structure is still standing, we'll see. but i'd like to tell my other haitian fellow members, hang in there and do not despair because we will all bend together and work to rebuild the country. we have to, it's a matter of priority right now. >> linda mellon with fokal-usa. the very best of luck to you and we'll stay in touch to learn as much as possible in the continuing days here. thanks once again. i also want to let everybody know ivan watson has just now landed in portport-au-prince. we'll have his report coming to you live after this break. 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( drop plinks ) brita-- better for the environment and your wallet. how about a coastal soup and grilled shrimp salad combination? or maybe our new savory shrimp jambalaya. seafood lunches starting at just $6.99 at red lobster. waiting and wondering, it definitely has been tough for haitian americans desperately trying to contact relatives back home, as you would imagine. we are told most of port-au-prince has been completely destroyed, trying very, very hard to get assessments of that. we have crews in place and actually crews on the way. josh, i know that you're getting a lot of information in. >> so many coming in at the last second. i can show you some that are popping in on ireport.com. we have some that are coming from southern haiti. this is from the airport actually, but take a look over here. these are some that we got that just popped into cnn ireport. you can see the devastation on some of these buildings the way they're collapsing. in some cases it does appear on top of people. we are following these continuously throughout the day. we also have some photos that have just come in from the associated press. let's get to those right away if we can. every time we see one of those shots, what they're showing us is the power of the devastation. i've got to tell you, the way that the world is following this today, they're following it with us and they are following it online tremendously with these really strong images and every type of social media. so we're camped out throughout the day. just came in from the associated press. we're seeing all sorts of buildings. we've been seeing churches, office buildings, homes all falling apart. we've been hearing descriptions about where this earthquake was and about the extent to which these areas are populated and why in the end it had such a massive impact, especially in some of these dense areas. >> look at that. >> look at that. >> rob was telling us earlier the equivalent of something like 32 tons of tnt dynamite. >> and also we were talking about the depth of where it took place. it was strong enough to really shatter these buildings. so many people in that area, we're also hearing about u.s. missionaries who are missing. i'll tell you coming up in the next hour about how we at cnn are helping people track down their missing loved ones. we want to get a closer look at haiti so we know what we're talking about. the caribbean nation is home to about nine million people. it is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. more than about half of the population live on less than $1 a day. we've been talking about it all morning long. haiti's almost limited infrastructure was further damaged, as you know and remember back in 2004 when those -- 2008 when those four tropical storms hit that nation. they also suffer from high crime, widespread disease and aids. about 8,000 u.n. peacekeepers have been stationed there since 2004. the political rebellion that took place to maintain some sort of civil order, so we are watching all of this, a very complicated story on many levels. but first and foremost, we continue to say the clock is ticking. 72 hours we're always told for rescue and search missions and the coming days are going to be beyond tough. >> we're seeing aerial images popping in and a lot of people crossing their fingers, holding out hope for the victims. >> josh, again, thank you. we'll be continuing to follow this story throughout the entire day right here in the "cnn newsroom." it continues now with tony harris. daylight reveals widespread human suffering and damage from the powerful earthquake in haiti. already heroic rescues to tell you about. >> three of the workers from the house began the process of uncovering her. i li

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