CS: Haiti Earthquake 2010

Question 1

General

Answer 1

• on 12th Jan 2010, a 7 magnitude EQ, w a 13km epicentre, struck 25km SW of Port-au-Prince, causing widespread devastation + affecting 1/3 of pop
• EQ caused land to move 1.8m + destroyed 60% of Port-au-Prince
• Haiti is 1 of the poorest countries in world, w many ppl’s income being reliant on remittances which accounted for 32% of GDP in 2008

Question 2

How prepared was Haiti for the EQ?

Answer 2

• Haiti was severely unprepared, making it extremely vulnerable to EQs, + lacked financial stability, so was unable to invest in disaster mitigation methods
  
  • many buildings lacked proper building codes or regulations, so were poorly designed + built w inadequate materials, + so couldn’t withstand large tremors + easily collapsed
  • e.g. 86% of ppl in Port-au-Prince lived in slums, that lacked proper infrastructure + safety regulations, so collapsed during EQ bc were weak, magnifying damage
• minimal public education on preparation for EQs contributed to high NO° of casualties bc ppl weren’t ready to evacuate or take protective measures
• weak gov. + political instability, led to a lack of emergency response plans + limited investment in disaster management systems

Question 3

Primary impacts

Answer 3

• EQ generated shock waves that caused violent ground shaking
  
  • led to collapse of buildings, roads + other infrastructure (e.g. destroyed 250,000 homes, leaving Ms w/o shelter, + Presidential Palace in Port-au-Prince, disrupting governance)
  • triggered landslides in regions surrounding Port-au-Prince + soil liquefaction, leading to further ground instability, damaged infrastructure + limited access to affected areas
• killed 200,000 ppl + injured >300,000 on top
• disrupted power line + water supply systems, leaving Ms w/o electricity + clean water, worsening health crisis

Question 4

Secondary impacts

Answer 4

• disrupted water supply systems + lack of sanitation led to cholera outbreak serval months after EQ (e.g. >700,000 ppl contracted cholera + >9,000 ppl died from disease)
• caused $8B in damage, representing 120% of Haiti’s GDP, + so hindered ability to recover eco. + rebuild infrastructure
• damage to infrastructure made it challenging for international aid to reach affected areas (e.g. destruction of Prince International Airport severely limited import of supplies + coordination of efficiency relief efforts)
• Haiti became heavily reliant on international aid, but struggled to manage it effectively bc of challenges in gov, distribution + huge scale of disaster

Question 5

How did Haiti respond to + recover from the EQ?

Answer 5

• UN quickly deployed disaster relief teams, however, response of distributing aid + resources to most affected areas was delayed, bc of lack of infrastructure + communication difficulties, making areas hard to reach
  
  • 7 days after EQ, UN managed to get food to only 200,000 ppl out of 3M ppl needing emergency aid
• large scale shelters were set up for displaced ppl, but poor conditions led to outbreak of cholera, which killed >8,000 ppl in Oct, slowing down recovery efforts
• recovery was hindered bc reconstruction of infrastructure was delayed, due to ongoing financial struggles, dependency on foreign aid + corruption, + was poorly planned, so lacked necessary EQ resistance for future disasters
  
  • by July, 98% of rubble in Haiti remained uncleared

Question 6

Conclusion/Evaluation

Answer 6

• Haiti was extremely ill-prepared for EQ, bc had inadequate infrastructure, limited public awareness + weak coordination from gov, which hindered effective relief efforts, despite influx of international aid
• recovery has been slow, highlighting importance for Haiti to invest in EQ resistant buildings + better disaster management systems, to improve its preparedness + help mitigate immense destruction + NO° of casualties in future
• this overall shows necessity of well-thought planning, a stable gov. + public education in dec risk of natural disasters