Authorities now say 200,000 people have been killed.

The government's given control over its main airport to the US to bring order to aid flights from around the world and speed relief to the impoverished Caribbean nation.

Trucks piled with bodies have been carrying them to hurriedly excavated mass graves outside the capital, Port-au-Prince, but thousands more are still believed to be buried under rubble.

If the casualty figures turn out to be accurate, the 7.0 magnitude quake that hit Haiti on Tuesday would be one of the 10 deadliest ever.

Health Minister Alex Larsen said three-quarters of the capital would have to be rebuilt.

A senior U.N. official warned that hunger will fuel trouble if aid does not arrive promptly, although the law and order situation remains under control "for the time being."