Tectonic Natural Hazard in an LEDC: Haiti Earthquake 2010

BACKGROUND

The earthquake occurred on 12th January 2010 in Haiti.
The epicentre was 20km away from the capital Port au Prince.
3 million people live in Port au Prince, with the majority living in slum conditions.
Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere - 80% are below the poverty line and 56% of the population is classed as "extremely poor".
The magnitude of the earthquake was measured at 7.0 on the Richter Scale.
It had been 240 years since the last major earthquake.

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Haiti lies on the conservative/transform plate boundary between the Caribbean Plate and the North American Plate (the fault is also called the Enriquillo-Plantain Boundary).
The fault had been gathering stress for 250 years.
The focus was just 13km deep and the epicentre just 20km away from the capital so the destructive forces were at their most intense.
The earthquake struck at the most populated area of the country.
Damage was increased by the fact that construction standards are low in Haiti.
8 aftershocks.

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Over 220,000 killed.
300,000 injured.
1.3 million Haitians left homeless. 1.6 million in relief camps.
200,000 homes damaged in the area.
Many Government buildings destroyed.
Roads were blocked leading to slow distribution of aid and, as a result, sporadic violence and crime.

Over 2 million left without food and water.
Government's efforts to control Haiti were hindered and the police force collapsed.
Frequent power cuts.
In the next year there were outbreaks of cholera.
As of July 2010, as much as 98% of the rubble was left uncleared.

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Between 23 major charities, $1.1 billion had been collected for Haiti - 2% of the money was released.
US government pledged $100 million to the aid effort.
The EU promised $474 million for emergency and long-term aid.
Many countries launched fund-raising efforts and search-and-rescue teams.
Only about 20% of aid has been spent by the Haitian government as they have no resources.

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