New Zealand has pledged $1 million to aid efforts in Haiti and has conveyed an offer to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that it will support American quake relief operations.
Tens of thousands of people are feared dead after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit near the Caribbean island nation's capital Port-au-Prince on Tuesday afternoon local time.
Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully says the $1 million contribution will be channelled through international relief agencies, such as the Red Cross, which are already in Haiti.
Mr McCully says there is some doubt as to whether anyone can get into Port-au-Prince at present, so a diplomat will be sent to Miami on stand-by.
Mrs Clinton has postponed her visit to the South Pacific in order to return to the US to coordinate relief efforts for Haiti.
She had been scheduled to leave Hawaii, where she gave an address about the importance of engagement with the Asia-Pacific region.
Mrs Clinton was set to visit Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Australia and was due to arrive in Auckland on Friday for talks focusing on trade, security and the Pacific.
Mr McCully says Mrs Clinton told him that, given the scale of the tragedy, the importance of US leadership in the relief efforts required her to return home immediately.
"She indicated that the situation on the ground was pretty much unimaginably bad and she had little choice but to make sure that they pulled out every stop to deal with it."
Mr McCully says he told Mrs Clinton that New Zealand had specialist skills in a number of emergency relief and recovery areas and would support the US effort.
The minister says Mrs Clinton told him she has promised to reschedule the New Zealand visit as soon as possible.
US ambassador to New Zealand David Huebner says discussions are already underway to try and re-schedule the visit.
Mr Huebner says US President Barack Obama made it clear he needs his top staff back in Washington to help deal with the deepening humanitarian crisis in Haiti.
Mr Huebner says Mrs Clinton had been looking forward to expanding the relationship with New Zealand, and no one is more disappointed than her.
The Secretary of State's visit to the region was also to have included Australia and Papua New Guinea. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has cancelled a trip to Australia, in order to deal with the Haiti crisis, Reuters news agency reports.
