Haitian Earthquake Victims Seek Aid Before Conditions Worsen

Haitians have flooded the capital's streets in search of food and supplies, which are running low  across Port-au-Prince. Some residents say they are walking simply to leave their devastated homes. Others carry what few undamaged possessions they have. Several say there is no word yet on where aid handouts are being distributed.

The chief concern two days after the quake is for authorities to remove the bodies that are piled up on some sidewalks and near destroyed buildings. Flies are swarming and residents are worried about the onset of disease.

Haitian-born Louis Stalbord operates a small shipping company in Florida. He was visiting Haiti when the quake hit, and says aid supplies must begin reaching people before desperation sets in.

"There is no food in the streets; there is no clean water. We are waiting for the help of everyone who would like to help us," he said. Cargo planes continued to fly overhead, dropping off personnel and supplies at the airport.

Some residents in the Delmas neighborhood complain that no international aid efforts have established a visible presence yet. On one street corner, a group of U.S.-based missionaries are offering medical treatment to injured people on the pavement in front of a destroyed building. The team was already in Haiti when the quake hit.

Brian Wagner, VOA News, Port-au-Prince in Haiti