Iran condoles with Haiti over devastating quake

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast Wednesday extended his condolences to the Haiti people and government on the death of a large number of people in what came to be the strongest earthquake in the country in the last two centuries.

The spokesman expressed Iran’s sympathy for the Haitian nation and government as well as the bereaved families of the victims, and expressed regret over the vast human loss and damage to properties.

International efforts to help Haiti in the wake of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake are underway, with governments across the world and aid agencies mobilizing search and rescue teams and aid supplies.

Although the full scale of the disaster has yet to emerge, it is clear that it will pose a huge challenge.

Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, is still struggling to recover from devastating hurricanes in 2008.

It needs all kinds of help, from emergency and medical aid, to food aid, to the longer-term rebuilding of infrastructure.

Nightfall and the chaos after the quake made it too early to estimate the extent of the casualties. Disaster specialists said various mathematical models for an earthquake of such magnitude in Haiti predict that as many as 4,000 people could have been killed.