7.0 quake hits Haiti; could be 'catastrophe,' official says January 12, 2010 9:01 p.m. EST STORY HIGHLIGHTS Damage to presidential palace, hospital, homes, reports say Ambassador: Official in Haiti told me it's "catastrophe of major proportions" Earthquake struck just off coast of capital Port-au-Prince on Tuesday The Associated Press reported that a hospital had collapsed RELATED TOPICS Haiti Earthquakes Editor's note: Watch continuing coverage of the earthquake in Haiti on CNN. (CNN) -- A major earthquake struck southern Haiti on Tuesday, knocking down buildings and power lines and inflicting what its ambassador to the United States called a catastrophe for the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation. "The only thing I can do now is pray and hope for the best," the ambassador, Raymond Alcide Joseph, told CNN. Witnesses reported heavy damage throughout the capital, Port-au-Prince, including to the president's residence and century-old homes nearby, and The Associated Press reported that a hospital collapsed. President Rene Preval is safe, Joseph said, but there was no estimate of the dead and wounded Tuesday evening. Are you there? Submit an iReport The magnitude 7.0 quake struck about 10 miles (15 kilometers) southwest of Port-au-Prince shortly before 5 p.m. Joseph said one official of his government told him houses had crumbled "on the right side of the street and the left side of the street." Video: Destruction in Haiti Video: Witness describes 'severe jolting' Video: 'I felt the house shaking' Interactive: Measuring earthquakes "He said it is a catastrophe of major proportions," Joseph said. Frank Williams, the Haitian director of the relief agency World Vision International, said the quake left people "pretty much screaming" a