The hardest hit areas were remote farming villages in the eastern Afghan province of Paktika. "All the village completely is destroyed," said one man, showing collapsed homes on a cell phone video.
The epicenter of the 5.9 magnitude quake was about 15 kilometers north-northeast of Harnai in Baluchistan province, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
This video from Mexico City's Azcapotzalco neighborhood shows startled occupants of an apartment rush to steady themselves as the 7.1 magnitude earthquake shakes their building.
"Everything was moving — houses, cars — and everyone was crying," said one Haitian resident from an area close to the earthquake's epicenter. At least 1,297 people are confirmed dead.
As rescuers work against the threat of an approaching storm, officials continue to assess the damage after buildings throughout the island nation were flattened by the 7.2-magnitude quake.
People in the capital of Port-au-Prince felt the tremor and many rushed into the streets in fear. The U.S. Geological Survey predicts the death toll could reach into the thousands.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake Wednesday evening was magnitude 8.2 and struck 56 miles east southeast of Perryville, Alaska, off the state's peninsula.