multi-hazard case study : Haiti

• Haiti is a caribbean island , located on island of Hispaniola
• Haiti has a population of 10.6 million
• situation on a seismically active zone, intersected by two fault lines on a conservative margin, lies in active hurricane region
• 60% of Haiti is mountainous , landslides and mudslides common due to deforestation
• least developed country in the western hemisphere , GDP of $1,300
• people who live there vulnerable to hazards as they live in poor quality housing, high levels of poverty (77% of population live on less than $2 a day)
• Haiti suffers from political instability that increases vulnerability to disasters
• four types of vulnerability:

  • physical
  • social
  • economic
  • environmental
• physical vulnerability - population density levels , remoteness , quality of housing
• social vulnerability - the inability of people, organizations, and societies to cope with impacts to hazards (governance, social equity)
• economic vulnerability - economic status of indivduals, communities, and nations. poor are more vulnerable to disaster as they lack resources to protect themselves from disasters
• environmental vulnerability - refers to natural resource depletion (deforestation) and resource degradation (soil degradation)
• situated in predominant atlantic hurricane path , hit by 4 or 5 storms between June and November each year.
• haiti has suffered from 9 serious storms over the past 20 years, affected 3.5 million people and killing over 7,000
• 2008 - hit by Tropical Storm Fay and Hurricanes Gustav , Hannah and Ike over 3 weeks
• result of hurricane season:

  • 793 deaths
  • 25,000 homes destroyed
  • economic damage = $1 billion (5% of Haiti's GDP)
  • floods wiped out 70% of its crops
  • soil erosion due to heavy rainfall after deforestation
• haiti located on plate margin where North American Plate slides past Caribbean plate (destructive plates)
• 2010 - magnitude 7 earthquake , 12th Jan , epicenter 16km west of the capital of Port-Au-Prince
• most of the damage in earthquake occurred in capital due to shallow focus (13km)
• impacts of earthquake:

  • 222,570 killed
  • 300,000 injured
  • deaths due to falling rubble
  • 30,000 commercial buildings collapsed , so did hospitals , schools , thousands of homes
• 2 million displaced
• ten months after earthquake , cholera spread along Artibonte River , 9000 died. Infected 21,000 in 2010
• chloera spread by UN troops dispatched to country to assist in disaster relief efforts, spread quickly through unsanitary refugee camps
• drought in 2014 affected 1 million people
• responses to 2010 earthquake by NDRMS:

  • hazard and disaster vulnerability map created (help disaster planning and prep activities)
  • development of Emergency operation center
  • expanding number of weather monitoring stations across island
• NDRMS = national disaster risk management system
• following 2010 earthquake , NDRMS emergency operations centre , Port Au Prince main fires station and many gov buildings all badly damaged and destroyed.
• difficulties in importing aid after 2010 earthquake:

  • collapse of control tower at airport
  • oxfam's local supply warehouse destroyed (vital emergency aid slow to arrive)
• responses to earthquake:

  • mobile data used to pinpoint where aid was needed
  • frontline SMS pulled together team of 1,000 creole-speaking volunteers to log and geo-tag 80,000 text messages - provided crisis mapping , actionable information for aid organisations
• UK donated £107 million after earthquake
• EU gave £250 million in aid after quake
• World Bank waived countries debt repayment for 5 years
• Haiti's neighbour , Dominican Republic sent teams to deliver food , medicine , asses damage. Eased visa requirements to allow injured into Dominican hospitals , accepted relief shipments that could be transported by land to Haiti
• UN supported recycling of 20% of removed earthquake debris , provided jobs to more than 30,000 people , provided training for more than 270,000 in development + recovery related fields
• future for Haiti:

  • warmer ocean temperatures caused by climate change may fuel stronger hurricanes.
  • increase in hazard magnitude could increase hazard risk
  • concern due to low resilience , lack of savings and financial re-building capacity , poor organisation and high vulnerability
  • conditions in Haiti unlikely to improve without political stability , and investment in infrastructure , buildings
• example of mitigation to continue occupation

  US Geological Survey invested in 7 seismic station across the island

  • hired one seismologist
  • Raspberry Shakes = local scale mitigation , seismometers in living room
  • YET won't pinpoint when and where earthquake will occur
• example of adaptation and resilience to continue occupation 


  funding from USAID 'Build Change' Charity , provided financial and technological assistance to train people to build safer homes. Helped 7,000 people

  • worked with 250 building materials to improve quality of concrete blocks
  • supports local businesses + strengthens supply chain
  • only helps minority of population (16million)
• example of management to continue occupation


  Disaster Emergency Committee raised £107 million - yet money hasn't gone to helping people

  • Red Cross set out to provide homes for 130,000 people yet has only built 6
  • 2010 Earthquake - MSF provided 28,600 tents , set up makeshift hospitals
  • NGOS provide basic services , gov have no incentive to help out
• example of strategies to reduce the impact of flooding and droughts

  2016 drought - destroyed 70% of stable crops - 68% of population = substance farmers

  • deforestation for fuelwood is increasing rate of soil erosion = increases flood risk. May 2014 - 17 days of rainfall , 100,000 homes flooded
  • July 2016 - WFP offered cash to 160,000 people to help with soil conversation project - planted trees on steep slopes and built structures to prevent erosion , planted drought resistance crops