Haiti earthquake

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. military personnel worked to open the port at Port-au-Prince, which would allow for an easier flow of relief supplies to those stricken by the Haitian earthquake.

The port was severely damaged by the Jan. 12 quake, which resulted in an estimated 200,000 deaths and left as many as 1.5 million people without shelter or other necessities.

While tons of relief supplies have reached the country, distribution is hampered by blocked roads and other problems exacerbated by the earthquake. Opening the port even at a reduced percentage of its pre-quake capacity, would help some of that and ease the situation at the over-taxed Port-au-Prince airport where most of the supplies now arrive.

Still, the BBC reported, the airport has become a storehouse for many supplies that has yet to be delivered to quake survivors as logistics continued to be worked out.

Authorities announced plans to move about 400,000 from Port-au-Prince to camps away form the destruction in the capital.

Actor George Clooney is among those involved in a huge telethon set for Friday with participants in London, New York and Los Angeles scheduled for the worldwide broadcast.

Funds raised during "Hope for Haiti Now" will be given to The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, U.N. World Food Program, the Red Cross and other charities involved in Haitian relief and recovery.