Haiti Earthquake + Tsunami

When and where did it take place?

• Jan 12th, 2010 at 4:53 P.M

• 25km from capital, Port-au-Prince

• On the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault

What are some specific facts about the earthquake?

• The plate pressure had built up for 250 years

• It occured on a conservative plate boundary

• The focus was 13 km deep

• The epicentre was 25 km from Port-au-Prince

• It was a magnitude 7 earthquake

What were the short-term economic impacts?

• Commerce was severely crippled

• Shops were looted, and crime rose

• There was a severe reliance on foreign aid

• GDP contracted by 3.8%

• Businesses and local production was destroyed

• 7.8 billion dollars in damage caused

What went well with the aid provided?

• The WHO deployed special teams to get aid to different areas

• WFP distributed food to 6 million people

• 17 field hospitals were established

• Over 189,000 plastic sheets and 24,600 family tents were provided by USAID

What went wrong with the aid provided?

• Although the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission was established to oversee funds, there was a lack of organization, and a lot of these went to NGOs instead of the Haitian government.

• Peacekeepers introduced cholera to Haiti, leading to an epidemic

• The U.S military assumed control of the airport, prioritizing security and foreign transport over the efficient delivery of aid.

• The transitional shelters provided were quite different from traditional infrastructure and not easily maintained. They were also uncomfortable, crowded, and unsafe, leading to violence and insecurity, especially for women.

What were the long-term economic impacts?

• High dept

• Human capital decline

• Permanent GDP losses

What were the short term social impacts?

• Over 200,000 deaths

• Over 300,000 injured

• 1.3 million people left homeless

• Hospitals, schools, and government buildings were shut down

• Acute food insecurity, lack of clean water, and the emergence of diseases like cholera and malaria

What were the long term social impacts?

• Thousands of people still lived in camps

• Long term psychological trauma was caused, especially for kids who were orphaned or displaced

• The government was weakened

• Slowed development (especially in education and healthcare)

• 520,000 people were infected by cholera by 2011

• Educational opportunities depleted for many children

What were the short-term environmental impacts?

• Massive landslides and landscape destruction (destroyed crops)

• Marine ecosystems were severely affected

• Surge in water-borne diseases

What were the long-term environmental impacts?

• Made the country more vulnerable to hurricanes because of the degraded landscape

• Accelerated soil erosion, which clogged rivers with silt, leading to less freshwater availability

• Loss of fertile and top soil