Haiti needs at least US$10 million to assist the victims in Tuesday's devastating earthquake, said the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) on Wednesday.

Thousands of people need urgent humanitarian aid because many public buildings collapsed, said Mauricio Bustamante, operation coordinator of the International Federation of Red Cross, adding that up to 100,000 people might have died.

The money will provide assistance to some 5,000 affected families and to support aid operations centered on temporary shelters, repair of water facilities, as well as medical assistance, said Bustamante.

The IFRC based in Panama for Latin America had already sent in a team of experts to evaluate emergency needs.

The IFRC said that the most affected areas were in West province, which has a population of 2.2 million.

(Xinhua News Agency January 14, 2010)