Haiti suffered its most powerful aftershock since the devastating earthquake in Port-au-Prince, leaving survivors scrambling for safety when tremors began Wednesday morning.
The latest quake struck at about 6:03 a.m., measuring at a magnitude of 5.9. It lasted about eight seconds, and was centred about 60 kilometres west-southwest of the Haitian capital, 10 km below the surface, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
"It caused significant damage in Port-au-Prince," CTV's Tom Clark told Power Play from the scene.
Soldiers and civilians both raced for open ground as the ground rumbled, and clouds of dust rose from rubble in the capital city.
Among the buildings that suffered damage was the Canadian Embassy, but everyone inside escaped serious injuries.
There have been about 40 aftershocks since the Jan. 12 earthquake struck Haiti. More are expected, and the country could be hit by another powerful tremor.
"They will be less and less frequent, but large ones can still strike," Purdue University's Eric Calais, an expert on earthquakes in the region, told The Associated Press.
It was not immediately clear how much damage was caused Wednesday, though Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said the government had sent teams to survey Petit-Goave, near the epicentre of the aftershock.
"We know they are going to need some help," he said.
Aid workers said the most recent quake complicated rescue efforts and a private undertaker said one woman died of a heart attack.
"She had a heart condition, and the new quake finished her," said Eddy Thomas while pushing her body along the street on a mobile stretcher.
For survivors of the Jan. 12 disaster that killed an estimated 200,000 people, the latest seemed too much to handle.
"I've seen the situation here, and I want to get out," said Anold Fleurigene, a 28-year-old father who took his wife and three children to the bus station after Wednesday's quake.
His brother and sister were killed in the Port-au-Prince last week, in the disaster that also claimed his house.
More aftershocks possible?
In total, Haiti has suffered 49 aftershocks of magnitude-4.5 or greater since the devastating 7.0-quake in Port-au-Prince.
U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Bruce Pressgrave said it's unknown if a still-stronger aftershock is possible.
"Aftershocks sometimes die out very quickly," he said. "In other cases they can go on for weeks, or if we're really unlucky it could go on for months" as the earth adjusts to the new stresses caused by the initial quake.
The aftershock that occurred Wednesday has complicated ongoing rescue efforts, said Dr. Yi Ting Tsai, a member of a Taiwanese search-and-rescue crew.
"The problem is the rain and the new quake this morning has made the debris more compact," he said.
While it is unlikely that many more survivors will be found in the rubble of collapsed buildings, several more people were found alive on Tuesday, a week after the Port-au-Prince disaster.
Ena Zizi, 69, was pulled out of the rubble of the residence of the Roman Catholic archbishop. She had been attending a meeting there when the Jan. 12 quake hit.
For days, she was alone, after another person trapped in the rubble went silent. Zizi passed the time by praying.
"I talked only to my boss, God," she said. "And I didn't need any more humans."
Two other women were found alive Tuesday, from the inside of a destroyed university building. And closer to midnight, Lozarna Hotteline, 26, was rescued from a collapsed store in the Petionville neighbourhood.
Nearly 100 people have been rescued from wrecked buildings over the past week.
Relief challenges
A massive international aid effort was still struggling with logistical problems Wednesday, trying to get food and supplies out to the estimated three million people in need in Haiti.
The UN World Food Program said it needs to deliver 100 million ready-to-eat rations in the next 30 days, but has only 16 million meals in the pipeline.
Destroyed and damaged infrastructure has also hampered relief efforts in Haiti, with aid agencies and military forces unable to traverse impassable roads, or make deliveries at a damaged seaport and under-equipped airport nearest to Port-au-Prince.
Security is also a concern for those bringing aid into Haiti, with fears that survivors' desperation could boil over into violence.
"We've very concerned about the level of security we need around our people when we're doing distributions," said Graham Tardif, who heads disaster-relief efforts for the charity World Vision. The UN, the U.S. government and other organizations have echoed such fears.
With files from The Associated Press
