Joe Bonamassa

By LIZ HAZELTON

Grief-stricken: Residents of Port-au-Prince, mourn as a girl's body is removed from the rubble

16 Britons missing after quake rips island apart

Hillary Clinton: 'Biblical' damage is on par with the 2004 Asian tsunami

Aid workers begin to pour on to island as emergency fund launched

Britain pledges £10m in aid as Brown describes 'tragedy beyond imagination'

Tens of thousands of people are facing a second catastrophe tonight as they struggled for survival on the devastated island of Haiti.

With no food, no water and no shelter, aid agencies were in a desperate race against time to save the victims of the earthquake

Witnesses described gutters running with blood and children sleeping among heaps of dead bodies after becoming separated from their parents.

Desolate: Survivors gather around bodies laid out after being recovered from the wreckage

There are growing fears that lack of basic sanitation and disease could claim thousands more lives.

Gordon Brown described the situation as a 'tragedy beyond imagination' and urged people to support emergency appeals.

The government has already pledged £10million in aid, including £6million to an appeal set up by the Disasters Emergency Committee for what Mr Brown called a 'tragedy beyond imagination'.

Rescue teams from around the world - including the UK - are descending on the stricken island.

But international aid is still only trickling through, hampered by poor communications and damaged roads.

xhausted: A mother sleeps in a makeshift with her children clustered around her (left) while an image of Pope John Paul II hangs on a wall that cracked by an earthquake

Rubble: A woman looks dazed as she wanders through once bustling streets

Many rescuers were forced to dig with their hands to free survivors trapped under tons of rubble.

Residents of the capital Port-au-Prince were squatting in makeshift refugee camps, parks and sports grounds around the ravaged city.

There were reports of looting and members of the UN peacekeeping force, whose own headquarters has been destroyed, attempted to keep order.

Laura Bickle, an American working at an orphanage in Port-au-Prince, told the BBC: 'All the parks are filled with people - they either have no home to go to or they are too scared to go home.

'They are pulling people out of the rubble, literally with blood running in the gutter like water.'

Gareth Owen, Save the Children's director of emergencies, believes that up to two million children have been affected by the earthquake. Many were in school when it struck.

'This is an unbelievably traumatic experience for children in Haiti. We believe up to two million could be affected, and the emotional damage of what they’re going through could last their entire lives.

'Thousands more will have lost all contact with their families and friends and are now struggling to survive alone in the rubble.

'As well as getting basic supplies in, it's crucial that children struggling on their own are protected from being crushed by more debris and are kept safe from abuse on the streets.

'This is not a safe place for children. We know that the prison has collapsed and lone children are incredibly vulnerable.

'Children are petrified and in danger. Many will have been orphaned or be badly injured themselves and in urgent need of medical help.

'They are sleeping on their own, trying to cope with the trauma of seeing dead bodies, and will have no idea where to go for help.'

Mr Owen added that there was growing concern for 20 Save the Children staff who had been missing since the earthquake.

'This is much worse than a hurricane,' said Jimitre Coquillon, a doctor's assistant working at a triage center set up in a hotel parking lot.

'There's no water. There's nothing. Thirsty people are going to die.'

One aid worker added: 'Money is worth nothing right now, water is the currency.'

Terrible task: Men carry away the battered body of a young woman plucked from the rubble in Port-au-Prince

Displaced Haitians walk the streets amidst collapsed buildings and rubble

Estimates for the number of fatalities vary but the Haitian Red Cross today said at least 50,000 are likely to have died.

UK officials said 16 Britons were still missing but International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said that did not necessarily mean they were casualties.

U.S. President Barack Obama announced that 'one of the largest relief efforts in our recent history' is moving towards Haiti with up to 3,500 U.S. soldiers and 2,200 marines on their way.

U.S. navy ships have also been sent, including an aircraft carrier and a hospital ship.

His Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the damage as 'Biblical', and likened the disaster to the 2004 Asian tsunami.

'This is going to (be) one of the highest in terms of loss of life in recent years,' she said.

Major logistic challenge: The poorest neighbourhoods of Port-au-Prince have been completely devastated

Haitians set up impromtu tent cities thorough the capital after the earthquake

On the streets of Haiti, rescuers were forced to turn pickup trucks into ambulances and doors intro stretchers.

Planes carrying teams from China and France, Spain and the United States landed at Port-au-Prince's airport with searchers and tons of water, food, medicine and other supplies - with more promised from around the globe.

It took six hours to unload a Chinese plane because the airport lacked the needed equipment.

The Red Cross estimates three million people - a third of the population - may need emergency relief. Some could need help for as long as a year.

Tthe Haitian national palace shows heavy damage following the earthquake. The city's airport was operational, opening the way for international relief aid to be ferried in

Ruins: Many areas of Port-au-Prince were completely devastated while fire broke out in the city's cathedral after the quake struck (right)

Survivors have been forced to scavenge food from the rubble.

Bodies lay in the street, covered by white sheets. Some people dragged the dust-covered dead along the roads, trying to reach a hospital where they might leave them.

Others tried to carry dead relatives to nearby hills for impromptu burials,

prompting Brazil's military - the biggest continent among UN peacekeepers - to warn the practice could lead to an epidemic.

It said it is asking local authorities to create a new cemetery.

Hospitals, too, are barely functioning.

Charity Doctors Without Borders treated wounded at two that had withstood the quake and set up tent clinics elsewhere to replace its damaged facilities.

Helpless: A woman waits to be freed from rubble (left) while another survivor looks dazed as she walks through the streets of Port-au-Prince bleeding and covered in dust