Haiti hits by 7.0 earthquake

Haiti was hit by 7.0 earthquake.

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake has hit Haiti. A tsunami warning has been issued for a number of nearby Carribean countries including Jamaica, the Bahamas and Cuba.

A major earthquake struck southern Haiti on Tuesday, knocking down buildings and power lines and inflicting what its ambassador to the United States called a catastrophe for the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation.

Several eyewitnesses reported heavy damage and bodies in the streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince, where concrete-block homes line steep hillsides. There was no estimate of the dead and wounded Tuesday evening, but the U.S. State Department has been told to expect "serious loss of life," department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters in Washington.

The magnitude 7.0 quake struck shortly before 5 p.m., and was centered about 10 miles (15 kilometers) southwest of Port-au-Prince, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. It could be felt strongly in eastern Cuba, more than 200 miles away, witnesses said. As darkness fell amid scenes of chaos and anguished cries from victims, residents desperately tried to dig out survivors or searched for missing relatives in debris-strewn streets.

The presidential palace was among buildings damaged, Haiti's ambassador to Washington, Raymond Alcide Joseph, told CNN. "My country is facing a major catastrophe," he said.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and has a history of destructive natural disasters. Some 9,000 U.N. police and troops are stationed there to maintain order.