CANBERRA, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton postponed her visit to Australia in order to deal with the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, Australian Associated Press reported on Thursday.

    This means an annual Australia-US ministerial dialogue on foreign affairs and defense (AUSMIN), to be held in Canberra on Monday, will be delayed.

    The earthquake decimated Port-au-Prince, the capital of the impoverished Caribbean nation, leaving schools, hotels, hospitals and the presidential palace in ruins.

    Hillary Clinton will return to Washington DC from Hawaii to lead relief efforts for Haiti, which is home to many US citizens.

    She called Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith to explain the decision, which was prompted by a disaster she described as of "biblical" proportions.