calls for help went unanswered , and no doctors were in sight .
the powerful earthquake that hit haiti on tuesday flattened the president 's palace , the cathedral , hospitals , ... ( associated press ) turning pickup trucks into ambulances and doors into stretchers , haitians were frantically struggling to save those injured in this week 's earthquake as desperately needed aid from around the world began arriving thursday .
cuba , which port - au - prince , haiti -- desperate haitians clawed at the rubble of their ruined capital for a second day thursday , retrieving their dead and rescuing the living , as an international armada of ships and aircraft struggled to provide food , water , medicine and shelter .
the aid group doctors without borders treated wounded at two hospitals that withstood the quake and set up tent clinics elsewhere to replace its damaged facilities .
if there were any organized efforts to distribute food or water , they were not visible wednesday .
an air china and belgium , the first shipments of aid were pushed through the streets in wheelbarrows .
 
the u.s. and other nations said they were sending food , water , medical supplies to assist the western hemisphere 's poorest nation , where the international red cross estimated 3 million people _ a third of the population _ may need emergency relief .
there were scant signs of help from the haitian government , itself scattered by the 7.0 - magnitude earthquake tuesday evening .