The chief of US naval operations, Admiral Gary Roughead, said the massive USS Carl Vinson, equipped with 19 helicopters, a water-purification plant and carrying tons of medicines, was "in the relief area and will begin operations."

It arrived after untold numbers of victims -- both living and dead -- spent a third night trapped under rubble, and survivors faced another day in the boiling tropical sun without water or food and facing the gathering threat of disease.

The streets of Port-au-Prince, now home to an estimated 100,000 people made homeless by the quake, grew ever tenser, with victims angry that what little help arrived appeared to be trained on foreigners.

Aircraft from the Vinson began to arrive at the airport, where aid flights already jostled for space on the tarmac, a logistical bottleneck that threatened to further hamper aid efforts.

US President Barack Obama promised Haitians they would not be forgotten and pledged to devote every element of US power to their recovery.

The ship was just part of a massive US response to the disaster, which Obama described as "one of those moments that calls out for American leadership."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates both canceled foreign trips to help coordinate the effort, which includes 100 million dollars in immediate assistance and the deployment of over 5,000 US troops.

"We stand in solidarity with our neighbors to the south, knowing that but for the grace of God there we go," Obama said.

US businesses joined the effort, pledging millions of dollars in cash and assistance as images of corpse-lined streets of Port-au-Prince made their way into newspapers and television broadcasts.

The US Department of Health and Human Services said it was deploying 250 personnel to Haiti, and a White House official said Obama's National Security Chief of Staff Denis McDonough would also head to the country.

Rajiv Shah, director of the US Agency for International Development which is helping coordinate US relief efforts in Haiti, said the deployments were ramping up to become one of the most extensive aid operations in recent years.

"We are working aggressively to try and address the needs and try and save lives while we still can," Shah told CNN.

"We're responding strongly," he said.

Three large ships with 2,000 Marines on board and several Coast Guard cutters were dispatched along with the Vinson.

The carrier is outfitted with water-purification equipment that can produce 400,000 gallons of drinking water a day and also boasts hospital beds, operating rooms and a giant flight deck.

"They are going to serve as a floating airport for a lot of different helicopters," Navy Lieutenant Nate Christensen told AFP.

"You have a ship that's very ready and very flexible."

The desperate need for more ways to deliver aid was illustrated Thursday when planes were forced to circle over Port-au-Prince, waiting for an opportunity to land on the lone runway.

Planes eventually made it down, with 44 craft on the ground at the same time at one point, according to a US military official helping run the Toussaint L'Ouverture airport.

The US Air Force said it had flown five air missions so far, delivering 59 tonnes of supplies, carrying out seven evacuations and transporting 113 rescue and aid workers.

The relief effort faced serious challenges with many roads around the capital impassable, communications rudimentary, and aftershocks still shaking the area and its distraught citizens.

Part of the US effort was aimed at helping the estimated 45,000 Americans in Haiti, some of whom were injured in the disaster.

Over 160 US citizens were evacuated Thursday and 370 more were to be rescued later in the day, the State Department said.

A group of wounded, including Spain's ambassador to Haiti and some staff from the US embassy, were taken to the nearby US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba -- home of the controversial prison camp for terror suspects -- for medical treatment.

US officials were also acutely aware of the need to contain possible mass panic or attempts to flee Haiti by sea to the United States.

Over the years, hundreds have made the perilous 1,000-kilometer (625-mile) journey in leaky boats, and many have perished on the way.

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News