A staggering 1 million Haitians may now be in search of shelter as the flow of tents and other temporary housing trickles in to the devastated island nation.

Housing experts say it could take weeks to locate areas large enough that also have ready access to public facilities to construct tent cities.

With the shock and sadness generated by grim images of bodies being pulled from the earthquake wreckage starting to pass, the tragedy is reaching its second phase: coming to grips with how to provide food, clothes and shelter to survivors in one of the world's poorest nations.

It's hard to envision a scenario for Haiti in the future that doesn't include years of pain and suffering for the Haitian people. Haiti was an international basket case, showcasing mismanaged and corrupt government, destruction of natural resources and crumbling infrastructure. Then the earthquake hit.

More than 1.5 million people are in need of food, according to the United Nations.

Things are so bad near the capital city of Port-au-Prince that more than 100,000 people have fled to the coastal northern city of Gonaives. The city had been originally abandoned because of two huge floods in 2004 that killed thousands.

So far, more than $1 billion has been pledged by foreign governments in emergency aid. That sounds like a big number, but one has to wonder what even $10 billion dollars would do for the Haitian people at this point.

Will the pledges get them a new decent standard of living or just return them to the misery too many had already known?