Tectonic event in an LIC: Haiti earthquake

• Causes / Background information

  • 12th January 2010  (16.53 Haiti Time)
  •  Magnitude 7.0 on the Richter scale.
  • The focus was 6.2 miles deep (very shallow)
  • The epicentre was south west of Port-au-Prince.
  • Caused by a slip along the conservative boundary between the north American and Caribbean plates.
• 316,000 people were killed in the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
• 1 million people were made homeless due to the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
• 250,000 homes and 30,000 other buildings, including the President’s Palace and 60% of government buildings, were either destroyed or badly damaged in the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
• Transport and communication links were badly damaged by the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
• Hospitals (50+) and schools (1,300+) were badly damaged, as was the airport’s control tower in the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
• The main prison was destroyed and 4,000 inmates escaped in the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
• About 85% of the rural population in Haiti practice some agriculture which accounts for about 26% of Haiti’s economic output.
• Destruction of infrastructure in Haiti due to the 2010 earthquake had a serious effect on food production.
• 1 in 5 people lost their jobs because so many buildings were destroyed.
• 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.
• Haiti’s largest industry, clothing, was one of the worst affected by the earthquake.
• The large number of bodies meant that diseases, especially cholera, became a serious problem.
• It was difficult getting aid into the area because of issues at the airport and generally poor management of the situation.
• The large number of deaths meant that hospitals and morgues became full and bodies then had to be piled up on the streets.
• Immediate response

  • $100 million in aid given by the USA and $330 million by the European Union
  • 810,000 people placed in aid camps
  • 115,000 tents and 1,000,000+ tarpaulin shelters provided
  • Healthcare supplies provided to limit disease
  • Lack of immediate aid through poor planning, management and access meant that people had to try and rescue each other
  • 4.3 million people provided with food rations in the weeks following the earthquake
• Long term response

  • 98% of the rubble on the roads hadn’t been cleared restricting aid access
  • 1 million people still without houses after 1 year so still have to live in aid camps
  • Support for people without jobs, which equates to nearly 70% of the population, through cash/food- for-work projects
  • Temporary schools created and new teachers trained
  • Water and sanitation eventually supplied for 1.7 million people