Clinton reviews Haiti relief efforts

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton flew into the Haitian capital today to confer with President Rene Preval and receive an update on earthquake relief efforts.

She arrived in a Coast Guard C-130 transport carrying bottled water, packaged food, soap and other supplies, the highest-ranking Obama administration official to visit since the magnitude-7.0 quake struck on Tuesday.

When asked by reporters aboard her aircraft what she hoped to accomplish, Mrs Clinton said she wanted to “listen to him, to be sure we are as responsive as we need to be”.

She also planned to meet with UN officials and US civilians and military personnel working on the relief effort.

Mrs Clinton planned to ferry 50 US citizens back to the US upon her departure.

Mrs Clinton, who last visited Haiti in April, was accompanied by Rajiv Shah, the US Agency for International Development administrator who is acting as the top US relief coordinator.