Earthquake - Haiti

Date

12th January 2010

Magnitude

7

Location

Haiti - Western side of Hispaniola, sharing the island with Dominican republic

25KM SW of Port-Au-Prince

13km focus

GDP per capita

$800

HDI

0.404

Tectonic setting

Conservative, North American and Caribbean

NA westwards relative to C

Stress had accumulated for 250 years

Primary impacts

220,000 deaths, 300,000 injured

90% all buildings destroyed in epicental zone

$7.8 b in damage

90% tax lost in capital

20 million cubic metres of rubble

Collapse of main government building

Secondary impacts

1.5 million people moved into crowded tents

10 months later - cholera - 10,000 deaths

Blocked drains - increased flooding

Economic collapse- 120% Haiti’s GDP 7.8b damage

Short term responses

120 people rescued from rubble

NGO’s like Red cross provided medical assistance

US military took control of Toussaint Louverture airport for importing supplies

Long term responses

100,000 homes rebuilt

Investment in seismic monitoring and early warning systems

$13.5 billion raised in total

UN established Interim Haiti Recovery Commission to coordinate aid

Hazards

Liquefaction - Particularly in coastal areas built on unconsolidated sediments

Landslides - Occurred on steep, deforested hills surrounding the capital

Tsunami - Small and local tsunamis occurred but not a major threat