PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Damage from Haiti's catastrophic Jan. 12 earthquake may be twice the value of the country's annual economy, Latin America's main development bank said Tuesday.

A report by three Inter-American Bank economists found last month's earthquake to be more devastating than the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was for Indonesia, and five times deadlier than the 1972 earthquake that leveled Nicaragua's capital.

Economists Eduardo Cavallo, Andrew Powell and Oscar Becerra estimated the magnitude-7 quake wrought damage worth between $8.1 billion and $13.9 billion.

Haiti produced only $7 billion worth of goods and services in 2008, according to the World Bank.

"This is just an assessment of damage; it gives no indication of the amount of money to get the country back as if nothing had happened," Cavallo said.

He said an ongoing assessment will be needed to determine the total amount Haiti needs to rebuild.