2010 Haiti earthquake

Question 1

What caused this earthquake?

Answer 1

Friction and between the Caribbean Plate and the North American Plate caused pressure to build up and release as an earthquake

Question 2

What’s the physical geography of Haiti?

Answer 2

• Located between Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean
• North-East of Jamaica, South-West of Cuba
• Dominated by coastal plains and river valleys

Question 3

Key facts about the earthquake?

Answer 3

• 7.0 magnitude
• It happened on the 12th of January 2010 at 4:53pm
• Aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 magnitude were felt in the following days

Question 4

Key primary impacts

Answer 4

• Between 200,000 and 230,000 people died
• 1 million people made homeless
• $8.5bn worth of damage
• 19 cubic metres of debris was generated

Question 5

Key secondary impacts

Answer 5

• 2 million people left without food and water
• Crime increased
• Haiti’s GDP fell by 5.1%
• Food prices increased due to disrupted food production
• Increased logging led to soil erosion and more flooding and landslides

Question 6

What was the 2010 cholera breakout?

Answer 6

• Following aid from UN peacekeepers from Nepal, cholera broke out in Haiti
• 10,000 people died
• this caused Haiti’s government to not be as trusting with outside aid, even though they needed it

Question 7

Short term responses

Answer 7

• The UN and the Red Cross provided food, water, and medical aid
• USA sent 10,000 troops to aid with search and rescue
• Over 800,000 people were placed in temporary shelters but they were in poor condition

Question 8

Long term responses

Answer 8

• Tens of thousands of people were still living in make-shift shelters years later
• Efforts were focused on improving sanitation after the cholera outbreak
• The control tower at the airport was redesigned after it collapsed