Washington: President Barack Obama said the United States stood "ready to assist" Haiti after a powerful 7.0 quake rocked the impoverished Caribbean nation.
"My thoughts and prayers go out to those who have been affected by this earthquake. We are closely monitoring the situation and we stand ready to assist the people of Haiti," he said.
The White House said Obama was notified about the quake at 5:52 pm (2252 GMT), and asked staff to find out if embassy personnel were safe.
"The Department of State, USAID (United States Agency for International Development) and the United States Southern Command have begun working to coordinate an assessment and any such assistance," the White House statement said.
In Hawaii, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said government agencies were "still gathering information about this catastrophic earthquake."
"The United States is offering our full assistance to Haiti and to others in the region. We will be providing both civilian and military disaster relief and humanitarian assistance."
Former President Bill Clinton, now a UN special envoy for Haiti, said his "office and the rest of the UN system are monitoring the situation, and we are committed to do whatever we can to assist the people of Haiti in their relief, rebuilding and recovery efforts."
Bureau Report
