Almost half a million Port-au-Prince residents have left the Haitian capital. According to the United Nations most people have gone to the countryside to find shelter with family or friends.

Meanwhile, UNICEF has begun a programme to vaccinate 700,000 children to protect them from measles, tetanus and diphtheria.

John Holms who is running the UN relief operation in Haiti has dismissed criticism of the presence of US troops. He says the Americans do not have a double agenda and are not an occupation force, as has been suggested by various Latin American leaders.

Photo: Food distribution in Haiti - ANP/EPA