MELISSA BLOCK, host:
Pierre Brisson is a Haitian businessman. He lives in Petionville on the hilly outskirts of Port-au-Prince. We reached him earlier today through Skype. He was using a generator to power his computer and his neighbor had Internet access from a satellite connection. Brisson told us he was in his house with one of his sons when the earthquake hit. They both escaped unharmed.
Mr. PIERRE BRISSON (Businessman, Haiti): It seemed that it was for longer than the 35 seconds that apparently it lasted. And it was as if a giant had taken the house, shaking it down. We ran out of the house and a cloud seemed to rise from the ground. It looked like we were between ground and sky with that cloud overshadowing the whole area. And then people started crying and shouts all over the place. We knew that it was an earthquake, but the feeling of powerlessness is what is striking. Where I am, I can overlook and see the Hotel Montana that collapsed totally. And the shanty town around it - it's like a bomb had been dropped on that place. It is disaster.
BLOCK: Mr. Brisson, are you able to stay in your house or was it destroyed?
Mr. BRISSON: No, the house is standing. The area where I am, fortunately, only one or two houses are down, but most of them stood up. So, it looks like the hills are okay, have not been hit. As a matter of fact, something that is very striking: that people are leaving town and moving. It's like a new exodus. People are moving away from town now, moving to the hills.
BLOCK: And what's in the hills? What do they hope to find there?
Mr. BRISSON: Safe haven, because the houses are shaky downtown.
BLOCK: Are you seeing any signs of a rescue effort where you are for people who might be trapped in the rubble of these homes and buildings that have collapsed?
Mr. BRISSON: Yes, there are small pockets of what you're talking about, but it's mostly neighbors and friends trying to help and moving the walls that fell down.
BLOCK: Have you heard of anyone being pulled out alive from the wreckage?
Mr. BRISSON: Oh, yes, there are some. There are some on Delma, where I was yesterday. Delma is the main artery from Petionville to downtown. I have seen people taken alive, being pulled alive from the rubbles. But the efforts are continuing all day, all night. My sons, for example, I have barely seen them because they are trying to help.
BLOCK: Mr. Brisson, it sounds like your immediate family thankfully survived. Have you gotten news of any friends or colleagues who you know did not survive the earthquake?
Mr. BRISSON: Yes, this is the very bad news. I have a lot of friends that have been found dead under the rubbles. Some are still under the rubbles, and efforts are there trying to get them out. And, oh, I could give you names and names of people that did not make it. A friend of mine, the owner of Hotel Montana, was found dead along with the two-year-old kid.
BLOCK: Hmm.
Mr. BRISSON: Yes, there are number of people.
BLOCK: We have heard reports and seen images of people badly injured, who are just getting no medical treatment at all. Are you seeing any medical crews, any medical teams there trying to help those who have been injured?
Mr. BRISSON: Oh, yes, definitely. I have encountered a number of them. Some Haitian doctors that I know are moving from buildings to buildings trying to help. What happen is that as the people are pulled out from the rubbles, they are laid on the tarmac, on the asphalt. And whoever has some medical training is helping. You know, what has struck me also is that the dead are lined up on the streets and covered with some sheets for dignity, I guess, until some trucks can come by and pick them up to wherever, I don't know.
BLOCK: Is there anybody maintaining law and order? Do you see any organized presence of crowd control or anything like that?
Mr. BRISSON: Once in a while, I can see the police trucks and some of the U.N. troops patrolling the streets. So far, I can say that there is order. It is beginning to shamble, but this is also another striking point that people are calm. It seems that we are still stunned by what happened. I'm afraid of the reaction as time goes by, where needs will be greater and despair will set in.
BLOCK: It sounds - I was going to say, Mr. Brisson, that you sound remarkably calm given what your country has gone through.
Mr. BRISSON: I'm still under the shock.
BLOCK: Yes.
Mr. BRISSON: We are all still under shock.
BLOCK: Pierre Brisson, it's good of you to talk with us. Thanks very much and all the best to you and your family.
Mr. BRISSON: Thank you very much and please ask everyone you know to pray for us, pray for this country. We have suffered too much. Enough is enough now.
BLOCK: Pierre Brisson is a Haitian businessman. He spoke with us from his home in Petionville on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.