 In Jacmel , a city of 50 @,@ 000 , the mayor claimed that 70 percent of the homes had been damaged and that the quake had killed 300 to 500 people and left some 4 @,@ 000 injured . The small airstrip suffered damage that rendered it unusable for supply flights until 20 January . The Canadian navy vessel HMCS Halifax was deployed to the area on 18 January ; the Canadians joined Colombian rescue workers , Chilean doctors , a French mobile clinic , and Sri Lankan relief workers who had already responded to calls for aid . 
