Haiti- CASE STUDY

Earthquake developing country

what plate boundary did it occur on

North American plate and Caribbean plate

what city was the epicentre close to and how close was it

Port-au-Prince 25km away

what was the magnitude on Richter scale

7.0

what date and time did it occur

16:43 on 12th January 2010

primary impacts (13)

• people died

• people injured

• people homeless and homes destroyed

• forced into squalid camps with limited water and sanitation; even a year later many still remained in temporary homes

• all hospitals collapsed and badly damaged

• schools and universities damaged and destroyed

• rubble and debris

• prison collapsed and inmates escaped

• port at Port-au-Prince severely damaged and airport control tower collapsed; hindered emergency effort and supply of aid

• electricity, water, communications and sanitation either badly disrupted or destroyed

• roads and transport badly damaged

• clothing industry reported structural damage at manufacturing facilities (made up 2/3 of economy)

• jobs lost

how many died

316,000

how many injured

300,000

how many people made homeless

1.5 million

how many homes destroyed

over 180,000

how many hospitals destroyed

all 8

how many schools damaged or destroyed

5,000

how many universities collapsed

all 3

how many cubic metres of rubble and debris created

19 million cubic metres

fraction of jobs lost

1/5

secondary impacts (6)

• cholera spread through the squatter camps, which also provided little protection through the hurricane season

• factories closed and tourism lost, lead to economic losses and financial struggle in a country already struggling

• looting and crime increased as the government and police force collapsed

• sea levels in local areas changed, with some parts of the land sinking below sea level; many had to relocated and animal habitats destroyed

• people left without food or water

• regular power cuts, loss of communication links

by 2015, what percentage of Haiti’s population caught cholera

6%

how many people left without water or food

2 million

immediate/short term responses

• Haiti one of poorest countries in Caribbean and so didn’t have enough money to prepare for an earthquake before it occurred or to help with the aftermath

• aid workers reported there wasn’t anyone in charge

• generally the aid was slow to arrive due to damaged port, roads and airports

• American divers and engineers cleared the ports so that the waiting ships could unload aid

• international aid in form of search + rescue teams flown into the country to help those who were trapped in collapsed buildings

• USA sent rescue teams and troops as well as food, water, medical supplies and temporary shelters (also provided by DR)

• bottled water and purification tablets provided so people could have clean drinking water

• UK Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) raised money used to provide emergency shelters, bottled water, medication, purification tablets and sanitation supplies

how many troops did the USA send

10,000

how much money did the DEC raise

over 100 million pounds

long term responses (6)

• people moved away from Port-au-Prince to less damaged cities

• many chose to stay away and some even emigrated

• damaged buildings inspected and repaired; earthquake resistant techniques used in some cases

• some people paid or received food for public work, such as clearing away the tons of rubble

• money pledged by individuals or governments around the world, including EU, USA and UK

• world bank cancelled Haiti’s debt payments for 5 years

how many people moved away from PaP to less damaged cities

235,000

what were methods of earthquake resisting buildings used

• old tires

• straw bales

• bamboo

• lighter roofs made from large leaves or tarpaulin

how many people paid or received food for public work

200,000

how much money received from EU

300 million euros

how much money received from USA

100 million

how much money was received from UK

20 million pounds

is there any long term planning for earthquakes in developing countries

• no- they don’t have the infrastructure or wealth to be able to afford or facilitate any long term planning

• yes- aid programs in place with charities, countries and organisations willing to donate food, money water etc to help

• yes- rebuild using earthquake resistant techniques