Haiti, 2010 (LEDC)
Haiti is a small island located in the Caribbean. See figures 7, 8 and 9 for location details. It lies on a fault line between the North American plate and the Caribbean plate. The conservative plate margin caused an earthquake here. At the fault line, the two plates move in the same direction, but one moves faster than the other. The build up of friction was finally released causing an earthquake of magnitude 7 on the Richter scale.
The epicentre of the earthquake was 16 miles west of Port-au-Prince and happened at 16:53 on the 12th January, 2010. The initial earthquake was followed by several after-shocks of up to a magnitude of 5 on the Richter scale.
Effects:
Primary effects-
230,000 deaths
1 million people made homeless
180,000 homes destroyed
30,000 other buildings destroyed, including the presidential palace
Effects:
Primary effects-
230,000 deaths
1 million people made homeless
180,000 homes destroyed
30,000 other buildings destroyed, including the presidential palace
Secondary effects-
Huge job loss because of destroyed buildings and widespread destruction.
Diseases spread fast, especially cholera, because corpses had to be piled on the street once the morgues became full.
Difficult for aid to reach the island due to problems at the airport and poor management of the crisis.
People moved into shanty towns which presented sanitation and hygiene problems, as well as looting.
Huge job loss because of destroyed buildings and widespread destruction.
Diseases spread fast, especially cholera, because corpses had to be piled on the street once the morgues became full.
Difficult for aid to reach the island due to problems at the airport and poor management of the crisis.
People moved into shanty towns which presented sanitation and hygiene problems, as well as looting.
Responses:
Emergency response-
Search and rescue was carried out by many local people.
MEDCs sent specially trained doctors and search and rescue equipment.
Aid was sent from MEDCs (firstly USA) in the form of food, water, medical supplies and shelter, but it was poorly distributed.
Emergency response-
Search and rescue was carried out by many local people.
MEDCs sent specially trained doctors and search and rescue equipment.
Aid was sent from MEDCs (firstly USA) in the form of food, water, medical supplies and shelter, but it was poorly distributed.
Long term response-
Around 75% of damaged buildings were repaired.
200,000 people received food, water or cash as a payment for clearing rubble.
World Bank pledged $100 million to help the recovery efforts.
Many people left the area or emigrated to other countries.