The Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the World Food Program (WFP) announced they are preparing a relief effort in response to Tuesday's earthquake in Haiti.

"Our purpose is to help people, to find shelter, and to provide basic assistance," OCHA spokesperson Elisabeth Byers said at a joint news conference.

Along with other UN agencies and the International Red Cross, OCHA is mobilizing staff from its regional offices in Panama.

"The WFP will do what it always does in these situations such as assessing and then mobilizing," said Charles Vincent, Geneva's WFP director.

In addition to using local reserves, WFP was airlifting energy biscuits with the capacity to feed 30,000 people for one week.

A 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, causing massive damage in its capital Port-au-Prince, which was just 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the epicenter.

(Xinhua News Agency January 14, 2010)