ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
From NPR News, it's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.
MELISSA BLOCK, host:
And I'm Melissa Block.
First this hour, the disaster in Haiti. In a few minutes, we'll talk with former President Bill Clinton, who is now the U.N. special envoy to Haiti. And we'll hear firsthand accounts from Haiti.
SIEGEL: The earthquake struck late yesterday and details remain very sketchy. Here's what we know so far. The magnitude 7 quake is the worst for Haiti in 200 years. Its epicenter was just 10 miles southwest of the capital city Port-au-Prince.
BLOCK: Countless buildings have collapsed, including the presidential palace and the headquarters of the U.N. mission. Among those who remain unaccounted for is the mission's chief. Across Haiti, the death toll is unknown, but it could rise into the hundreds of thousands, and relief is just starting to arrive.
SIEGEL: Lisa Buxman is one of those trying to help. She works in Port-au-Prince as a midwife with Heartland Ministries. We reached her earlier today and asked about the situation with hospitals.
Ms. LISA BUXMAN (Midwife, Heartland Ministries): There is a hospital not far off from us. And what I was just told a few minutes ago, that there's just people lined up all over in front of it waiting for care, injured people laying on sidewalks. That seems to be the story we hear from the other hospitals, not enough medical help by any means.
SIEGEL: After a quake like this, when there are aftershocks, of course people are afraid to go inside buildings, which they fear might collapse on them. First, are there tents for people to stay under outside and what's the weather like? Is it a time when people can stay outside?
Ms. BUXMAN: It's beautiful. And I have to tell you, we're really grateful. And the odd thought is that, you know, if we're going to have an earthquake here in Haiti, this is a great time of year to do it because it is cooler in January. It's not as devastatingly heat, you know, wise as it would be in, say, summer. So, the weather is beautiful. And people are making makeshift tents and staying out of their homes.
SIEGEL: Ms. Buxman, thank you very much for talking with us.
Ms. BUXMAN: Well, thank you, sir.
SIEGEL: That's Lisa Buxman, a midwife with Heartland Ministries in Haiti.