Haitian government officials say the death toll from Tuesday's 7.0 magnitude earthquake may surpass 100,000.

The nation's capital, Port au Prince, is currently without water and electricity. The country is in dire need of trained rescue workers as well as vehicles to clear the debris from collapsed buildings and other structures.

People are manually digging through the rubble in search of survivors and bodies.

Haitian President Rene Preval has appealed to the international community for medical help and assistance in clearing up streets in the demolished capital.

"We need medicine. We need medical help in general," Preval told CNN. "Some of the hospitals, they collapsed."

Haiti's Consul-General to the US, Felix Augustin, said he believed more than 100,000 people are dead in Port au Prince which "is flattened" by the devastating quake.