Techniques for performing power control and handoff are described. In an aspect, power control (PC) is supported with multiple PC modes such as an up-down PC mode and an erasure-based PC mode. One PC mode may be selected for use. Signaling may be sent to indicate the selected PC mode. If the up-down PC mode is selected, then a base station estimates the received signal quality for a terminal and sends PC commands to direct the terminal to adjust its transmit power. If the erasure-based PC mode is selected, then the base station sends erasure indications that indicate whether codewords received from the terminal are erased or non-erased. For both PC modes, the terminal adjusts its transmit power based on the power control feedback (e.g., PC commands and/or erasure indications) to achieve a target level of performance (e.g., a target erasure rate for the codewords). The erasure indications may also be used for handoff.