In Haiti: Thousands Feared Dead; Day To Reveal Extent Of Devastation

Update at 4:15 p.m. ET. We've added four more updates in the past couple hours:

-- Pat Robertson Blames Haitian Devil Pact For Earthquake.

-- American Red Cross Exhausts Medical Supplies.

-- FBI Warns Against Online Relief Scams.

-- Worst Natural Disasters In History.

Update at 1:45 p.m. ET. Since our last update here, we've published several fresh posts about the crisis in Haiti, including:

-- New Video Of Rescuers, Victims And Dazed Survivors.

-- 'Unimaginable' Destruction; PM Says Deaths May Be In Hundreds Of Thousands.

-- U.S. Aid Starts To Arrive, Much More Headed To Haiti.

-- 'Doctors Without Borders' Facilities In Haiti Devastated By Quake.

Update at 10:35 a.m. ET. Since the day began, we've published several fresh posts about the crisis in Haiti, including:

-- Obama Pledges 'Aggressive Effort' To Save Lives In Haiti.

-- AP: Death Toll Likely 'In Thousands'.

-- From Haiti: Heart-Breaking Photos.

-- Haiti: Some Ways To Help.

Our original post:

Here's the latest from Haiti, where a powerful earthquake struck yesterday afternoon:

-- Tons Of Rubble; Thousands Of Collapsed Buildings: "Dazed and injured Haitians sat on darkened streets pleading for help Wednesday and untold numbers were trapped in tons of rubble brought down by the strongest earthquake to hit this poor Caribbean nation in more than 200 years. Destroyed communications made it impossible to tell the extent of destruction from Tuesday afternoon's 7.0-magnitude tremor -- or to estimate the number of dead lying among thousands of collapsed buildings in Haiti's capital." (The Associated Press.)

-- "Serious Loss Of Life: State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley "says that U.S. embassy officials in Port-Au-Prince are still trying to get a handle on the scale of the disaster -- but expect a serious loss of life. He said officials reported significant damage -- with walls crumbling down and some bodies in the streets." (NPR's Michele Kelemen.)

-- "Thousands Feared Dead": "A major earthquake rocked Haiti, killing possibly thousands of people as it toppled the presidential palace and hillside shanties alike and leaving the poor Caribbean nation appealing for international help." (Reuters)

-- Daylight Will Reveal Devastation: "After the earth shook more violently in Haiti than it has in two centuries, its citizens hunkered down for the night, awaiting daylight Wednesday to ascertain the full scope of death and devastation." (CNN.)

-- Coast Guard Prepares To Help: "Coast Guard officials in Miami have mobilized cutters and aircraft to positions in close proximity to Haiti to render humanitarian assistance as needed. (Coast Guard statement.)

As it was yesterday, Twitter is serving as a valuable tool for people trying to send information from Haiti and share information about what happened. Click here for a list of feeds collected by NPR. Here's a sampling:

-- firesideint Not looking forward to the job I have to do. The sun will be up soon. No surprise, phones are still down.

-- carelpedre DIGICEL IS WORKING! CALL UR FAMILY NOW!!

-- troylivesay Church groups are singing throughout the city all through the night in prayer. It is a beautiful sound in the middle of a horrible tragedy.

And here's a video report from the AP that has more photos:

Update at 7:30 a.m. ET. And here is the photo gallery we pointed to earlier:

Update at 7:10 a.m. ET. For more photos, check this NPR.org picture gallery.

Update at 7 a.m. ET. Three Million People Affected. On its Twitter feed, the International Red Cross/Red Crescent says it "estimates that up to 3 million people are affected by the #Haiti quake."