things to know

Created by

isobelle

Cards (15)

date and size
12th january 2010 at 4.53 pm measuring 7.0
cause of the earthquake
the quake occurred in the vicinity of the northern boundary where the carribean tectonic plate shifts eastwards by about 20mm per year in relation to the north american plate moving westwards. this is a conservative plate boundary
primary effects (social)
230,000 dead
300,000 injured
1 million made homeless
primary effects (social)
50 hospitals destroyed or damaged
secondary effects (social)
9 months after the quake, cholera appeared - believed to have come from agency workers from nepal that spread easily in the camps. 600,000 affected over 2 years and 8,600 deaths from this alone
secondary effects (economic)
1 in 5 people lost their jobs because so many buildings were destroyed. haitis largest industry, clothing was affected most
primary effects (economic)
30,000 commercial buildings destroyed
primary effects (economic)
total cost was $11.5 billion
primary effects (environmental)
sea levels in local areas changed, with some parts of the land sinking below the sea
short term responses
$100 million in aid given by the USA and $330 million by the european union
short term responses
115,000 tents and 1,000,000+ tarpaulin shelters provided
short term responses
4.3 million people provided with food rations in the weeks following the earthquake
short term responses
members of social networking sites such as twitter and facebook spread messages to send help. the american red cross raised $7 million in 24 hours when they allowed people to send donations via text message
long term responses
the european union promised $474 million for emergency and long term aid. the uk commited to $32.7 million and the world bank waived the countrys debt repayments for 5 years
long term responses
oxfam organised earthquake simulation activities in schools 3 years after the event to allow emergency services to practise their response to get people to remain calm