Obama pledges $100M to Haiti for aid

U.S. President Barack Obama said $100 million would be available immediately to provide equipment, food, water and medicine to earthquake-ravaged Haiti. "This investment will grow over the coming year as we embark on the long-term recovery from this unimaginable tragedy," Obama said.

The first waves of U.S. rescue and relief workers have landed in Haiti, laid to waste by a 7-magnitude earthquake Tuesday afternoon, Obama said.

A survey team worked to identify priority areas for assistance, search-and-rescue teams were deployed, military personnel secured the Port-au-Prince airport and prepped it to receive the heavy equipment and resources en route, Obama said.

"The losses that have been suffered in Haiti are nothing less than devastating, and responding to a disaster of this magnitude will require every element of our national capacity -- our diplomacy and development assistance; the power of our military; and, most importantly, the compassion of our country, Obama said.

Obama warned that getting all supplies and personnel to Haiti would take hours and "in many cases, days" because roads are impassable, the main port badly damaged, communications are spotty and aftershocks continue.

He said several U.S. Coast Guard cutters arrived, "providing everything from basic services like water, to vital technical support for this massive logistical operation."

Personnel and equipment from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division arrived Thursday, Obama said. A Marine Expeditionary Unit, the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, and the Navy's hospital ship, the Comfort, also were deployed.

The United States would partner with the Haitian government, the United Nations and other nations and global organizations to provide humanitarian and security support, he said.

Addressing Haitians directly, Obama said, "(You) will not be forsaken; you will not be forgotten. In this, your hour of greatest need, America stands with you. The world stands with you."

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