Thousands were feared dead in Haiti following a major earthquake that brought the presidential palace crashing down, ravaged hillside shanties, and left the impoverished Caribbean nation appealing for international aid. Thousands were feared dead in Haiti following a major earthquake that brought the presidential palace and a UN headquarters building crashing down, ravaged hillside shanties, and left the impoverished Caribbean nation appealing for international aid. As rescuers braced for a rapidly rising death toll, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner announced that all those who were in the headquarters of the UN mission when the building collapsed were likely to be dead, including UN Haiti Peacekeeper, Chief Hedi Annabi of Tunisia. The 7.0 magnitude quake - thought to be the most powerful to hit Haiti in more than 200 years - had an epicentre only 10 miles (16 km) from Port-au-Prince, which has a population of about one million. Aftershocks as powerful as 5.9 shook the city throughout the night and into Wednesday. As the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, Haiti is ill-prepared to handle such a catastrophe.
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