World scrambles to help quake-hit Haiti

Planeloads of rescuers and relief supplies headed to Haiti Wednesday as the world launched a massive relief operation after a horror earthquake was feared to have killed more than 100 000 people.

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United States President Barack Obama ordered a sweeping rescue effort for the millions in need, while an array of other nations also scrambled to respond quickly and aid groups unlocked emergency funds for the destitute Caribbean country.

Much of the capital, Port-au-Prince, was reduced to rubble by Tuesday's 7-magnitude quake but the airport was operational, opening the way for international relief aid to be ferried in by air as well as sea.

"I have directed my administration to respond with a swift, coordinated and aggressive effort to save lives," Obama said, as US military and coast guard vessels made their way to Haiti.

"The people of Haiti will have the full support of the United States in the urgent effort to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble and to deliver the humanitarian relief, food, water and medicine that Haitians will need."

After Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said the death toll from the quake may reach "well over 100 000", the initial phase of the international effort was focused on saving as many lives as possible.

"The priority is to find survivors," said Elisabeth Byrs, a spokesperson for the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

"We are working against the clock," she told journalists in Geneva as the United Nations mobilised 37 search-and-rescue teams.