A Charlottetown couple with family and friends in Haiti feel helpless as they wait for news of them after Tuesday's earthquake.

Ephetas Norman wishes she could travel to Haiti, where she was born, to help with relief work. (CBC)

Ephetas Norman and her husband, Don, met in 1992 when they were both working for the Red Cross in Haiti. They now live in Charlottetown with their two young sons.

A native of Haiti, Ephetas said she is having a difficult time finding out how her loved ones have been affected by the earthquake.

Her adopted mother, cousins, aunts and uncles all live in the island country, and many live in a community called Leogane, near Port-au-Prince, that has reportedly been hit hard.

"The only one I could talk to this morning was a cousin of mine and the only thing he was saying, 'It's over, it's done,' and he was saying his house is beside him, collapsed," Ephetas said.

"It's sad. It's frustrating. Because you're here, you want to know what's going on and you can't. There's no way you can find out."

The Normans are also frustrated because they have both done disaster-relief work and would like to go to Haiti now to help. But with two children at home it is difficult to leave.

"You feel hopeless, you feel powerless, you want to do something, but you can't do it," Ephetas said. "And it's not only about your family and friends, it's everybody is going through the same thing. And it's so hard to just sit here and wait."

The Canadian Red Cross has not yet been asked to send volunteers, but about 50 people on P.E.I. are trained and ready to go.

"We're trained mostly for local responses, but of course when you're trained in disaster management, you have to be ready to handle any kind of disaster, "Arja Page, leader of the P.E.I. Red Cross-emergency response team, said Thursday.

There haven't been any immigrants from Haiti to the Island in several years, but this could change, the executive director of the P.E.I. Association for Newcomers said Thursday.

Rosalie Murphy said the disaster could bring a surge of Haitian refugees.

"We are prepared for a potential influx of newcomers to the Island, and if that is to happen we won't see that immediately," she said. "It usually takes about three to four weeks," she said.

Islanders are visiting Red Cross offices to donate money to help quake victims.

"It's our duty, I think," said donor Judy Smith. "If we have anything that we can help with, we have to [do it.]"

The organization is aiming to raise at least $2 million on the Island.