Location
Haiti is a small island located in the Caribbean, South East of the USA and East of Cuba. Its capital city is Port-au-Prince.
Image courtesy of Wikipedia
Causes
The earthquake was caused by the North American Plate sliding past the Caribbean Plate at a conservative plate margin. Both plates move in the same direction, but one moves faster than the other. The pressure that was built up because of the friction between the 2 plates was eventually released causing a magnitude 7 earthquake on the Richter Scale with an epicentre 16 miles West of Port-au-Prince and a shallow focus of 5 miles. The earthquake struck at 16:53 (4:53pm) local time on Tuesday 12 January 2010.
Effects
Image courtesy of Wikipedia
|
Primary (caused directly by the earthquake) |
Secondary (result from primary effects) |
| 316,000 people were killed and 1 million people were made homeless. 3 million people were affected by the earthquake | 1 in 5 people lost their jobs because so many buildings were destroyed. Haiti’s largest industry, clothing was one of the worst affected |
| 250,000 homes and 30,000 other buildings, including the President’s Palace and 60% of government buildings, were either destroyed or badly damaged | The large number of deaths meant that hospitals and morgues became full and bodies then had to be piled up on the streets |
| Transport and communication links were also badly damaged by the earthquake | The large number of bodies meant that diseases, especially cholera, became a serious problem |
| Hospitals (50+) and schools (1,300+) were badly damaged, as was the airport’s control tower | It was difficult getting aid into the area because of issues at the airport and generally poor management of the situation |
| The main prison was destroyed and 4,000 inmates escaped | People were squashed into shanty towns or onto the streets because their homes had been destroyed leading to poor sanitation and health, and looting became a real problem |
Development
|
Development Indicator |
Value |
| GDP per capita (average income) | $1,200 per person each year |
| People living in poverty | 80% of people live on $2 or less per day |
| Life expectancy | 62 years old |
| People per doctor | 0.25 doctors per 1,000 people |
| Adult literacy rate | 53% over 15 years old can read/write |
| Access to clean water | 46% of people have access to clean water |
Responses
Image courtesy of Wikipedia
|
Short Term |
Long Term |
| $100 million in aid given by the USA and $330 million by the European Union | 98% of the rubble on the roads hadn’t been cleared restricting aid access |
| 810,000 people placed in aid camps | 1 million people still without houses after 1 year so still have to live in aid camps |
| 115,000 tents and 1,000,000+ tarpaulin shelters provided | Support for people without jobs, which equates to nearly 70% of the population, through cash/food-for-work projects |
| Healthcare supplies provided to limit disease | Temporary schools created and new teachers trainee |
| Lack of immediate aid through poor planning, management and access meant that people had to try and rescue each other | Water and sanitation eventually supplied for 1.7 million people |
| 4.3 million people provided with food rations in the weeks following the earthquake |
Useful Documents
Primary and secondary effects of the Haiti earthquake
Links
Handy Geography 