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A case study of a natural hazard – the Haïti Earthquake in the Caribbean (LEDC)

Where?

The earthquake happened in Haïti, the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.  Haïti is an old French colony on the Island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean Sea.  It owes its existence to subduction of the North American plate under the Caribbean plate. Even before the 2010 earthquake, Haïti was the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Over the past decade, it has been hit by no less than 20 large-scale natural disasters. The 2010 earthquake exposed just how vulnerable it had become.

Why?  

Port au Prince is on a fault line running off the Puerto Rico Trench, where the North American Plate is sliding under the Caribbean plate.  The fault line is a strike slip fault, the Caribbean Plate south of the fault line was sliding east and the smaller Gonvave Platelet north of the fault was sliding west.  There were many aftershocks after the main event.

When? January 12th 2010

Background    
The Haïti earthquake centred just 10 miles southwest of the capital city, Port au Prince and the quake was shallow—only about 10-15 kilometres below the land's surface.
  The event measured 7.0 on the Richter Magnitude scale.

Haïti Development indicators – FACT FILE

GDP  - $1,200 per person, 207th in the world

GDP growth rate 2010 – MINUS 5.6%

HDI (Human Development Index) - 0.404, 145th in the world

Population - 9.7 Million

Population below poverty line - 80%

 

 

Social

Economic

Environmental

Impacts

316,000 people died and more than a million people were made homeless, even in 2011 people remained in make shift temporary homes.  Large parts of this impoverished nation where damage, most importantly the capital Port Au Prince, where shanty towns and even the presidential palace crumbled to dust. 3 million people in total were affected. Few of the Buildings in Haïti were built with earthquakes in mind, contributing to their collapse

The government of Haïti also estimated that 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged.  The port, other major roads and communications link were damaged beyond repair and needed replacing.  The clothing industry, which accounts for two-thirds of Haïti's exports, reported structural damage at manufacturing facilities.  It is estimated the 1 in 5 jobs were lost as a result of the quake

Rubble from collapsed buildings blocked roads and rail links.  People had to live in make shift shanty towns which had no running water and no waste disposal systems. Mass graves had to be dug as the cities morgues could not cope, and many bodies remained trapped under rubble as the Haïtians struggled to cope. The port was destroyed. Sea levels in local areas changed, with some parts of the land sinking below the sea. The roads were littered with cracks and fault lines

Consequences for development

The loss of population is catastrophic as many of the industries Haïti uses for export are people intensive.  The loss of productive workforce therefore has a long term economic consequence.  In addition, the homelessness and trauma caused by the earthquake makes for a less productive workforce.

The economic consequences will hinder Haïti’s development for decades to come.  The loss of a fragile clothing industry and the cost of rebuilding buildings are too much for one of the world’s poorest countries to cope with.

Damage to key infrastructure such as the port and airport isolated Haïti internationally having a damaging impact on their development and economy.  Rubble littered streets for years after the earthquake; slowing down the road network and making businesses suffer as the country is less efficient.

Responses      

Many countries responded to appeals for aid, pledging funds and dispatching rescue and medical teams, engineers and support personnel.  Communication systems, air, land, and sea transport facilities, hospitals, and electrical networks had been damaged by the earthquake, which slowed rescue and aid efforts. There was much confusion over who was in charge, air traffic congestion, and problems with prioritisation of flights further complicated early relief work.  Port-au-Prince's morgues were quickly overwhelmed with many tens of thousands of bodies having to be buried in mass graves.  As rescues tailed off, supplies, medical care and sanitation became priorities.  Delays in aid distribution led to angry appeals from aid workers and survivors, and looting and sporadic violence were observed.

Management after the quake.   

The US raised $48million to help Haiti recover after the earthquake.  The EU gave $330 million and the World Bank waived the countries debt repayments for 5 years. The Senegalese offered land in Senegal to any Haitians who wanted it!  6 months after the quake, 98% of the rubble remained not cleared, some still blocking vital access roads.   The number of people in relief camps of tents and tarps since the quake was 1.6 million, and almost no transitional housing had been built.  Most of the camps had no electricity, running water, or sewage disposal, and the tents were beginning to fall apart. Crime in the camps was widespread, especially against women and girls. Between 23 major charities, $1.1 billion had been collected for Haiti for relief efforts, but only two percent of the money had been released One year after the earthquake 1 million people remained displaced, 6 months after the quake 98% of the rubble was still where it fell.  These have grave consequences for the long term development of Haïti.

Aid

The Dominican Republic which neighbours Haiti offered support and accepted some refugees. Medicin San frontiers, a charity, tried to help casualties whilst the USA took charge of trying to coordinate Aid distribution. 

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